Rune Soldier Naruto
by Freedom Guard
Summary: Naruto lands in a world of magic and swords due to an experiment by a mage from the other world and must learn magic to get home, what can possibly go wrong? With Naruto around, then ANYTHING can go wrong.
1. Chapter 1

Rune Soldier Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own either Rune Soldier Louie or Naruto.

Prologue

Fox out of the woods…

( ): Thoughts/Conversation with the Kyuubi

(( )): Kyuubi's words

--------

In another world…

"Are you sure we should be doing this?"

A young man spoke to an elderly man wearing the robes of a mage and they were before a massive device that resembled a giant solarium with several crystal globes in several rings around them. The elderly mage was still intent on studying the device in the ruined tower. This had been the site of some sort of experiment made by a mage many centuries before but was eventually abandoned due to certain circumstances.

"Why complain, we're here to see if this magical artifact can be worth something to the Guild, the study of this device could prove to be the key to many things here for our world."

"But sir, wasn't that device outlawed when it was discovered to be highly unstable?"

"That was long ago, besides, magic has improved since then and this device could go a very long way in making transportation of many things even more effective when time is of the essence and not to be wasted!"

The device was a dimensional portal, designed to take objects and move them through a tunnel of magic and send them to another place entirely without the need of traveling for days, weeks, months or even years. But the portal was not used for a long time as many fought to control it and the mage decided to shut it down.

"How can we even get it to work?"

"With this. This crystal would prove to be the key for it all, it has more than enough energy to do it's work."

The mage revealed a massive crystal and it glowed with great power, the mage then without warning placed it into a bowl and the device activated and the mage spoke, startling the man.

"Wait Master Rolf!!! We haven't even tested the device yet!!!"

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained my young apprentice, we need to see if it can still open a portal!"

--------

In the Naruto world...

"Man....what a life..."

Naruto woke up in his new room and shook the cobwebs from his mind and got up to look out the window of his new apartment. And the sounds of the morning were very good to his ears. It had been nearly two years since the fall of Uchiha Madara and Akatsuki, as well as the defeat of Danzo's faction when the old goat tried to take power from Tsunade.

He had just managed to finally complete the jutsu his father, the Fourth Hokage known also as Minato Namikaze had planed for him to use, and that granted him full control over the power of the Kyuubi without being overwhelmed by it all. That proved the key when he fought with Pain and he decimated the leader of Akatsuki and then fought with Madara....fulfilling the prophecy of him being the child of destiny.

He had turned from the destroyer to the savior and had saved many lives, including Hinata and Shizune's lives as well as those who had been killed by pain when he attacked. The leader of Akatsuki had been destroyed by him and the Kyuubi and he was able to do the same to Madara and then used the gift Itachi had given him to defeat Sasuke when his former friend came back to fight and destroy Konoha. That had been a bitter fight but in the end he won and Sasuke had been restrained.

Team Hawk came back but he had been ready and he defeated them with the help of the others and he had managed to stop Sasuke and he had worked hard to bring peace back to Konoha ever since. The last of the Uchiha had been given a chance to get his justice on the three who were the ones who had his clan destroyed but Naruto defeated him when he turned on Konoha, after he was beaten, he was banished as his Sharingan finally was sealed away by the curse on it. That had been hard for him and Sakura but it had to be done after all and it was the path that Sasuke walked when he turned on Konoha.

The former Konoha ninja and his team were banished and were never seen again for th past year...

Naruto placed those thoughts aside for now and got dressed in his usual garb and wore the red and black long coat he had gotten and then looked at the picture he had of his team and the picture of Kakashi, and Jiraiya. That was the hardest for him, losing two good sensei but at least their names and their deeds were never going to leave his memory.

And he finally saw the picture of his father and mother together with Jiraiya, and then there was another set of pictures on his table, the first was with him, Sakura, Sai and Yamato as Sai chose to side with them and aided in defeating Danzo as well as became a good friend, the second was with Gamabunta and both Ma and Pa Toad after they had recovered, and the other one was very important, it was him with Sakura and Hinata with all smiles.

He smiled and took the pictures with him to remember always. he had been able to take the Chuunin exams and finally graduated to being Chuunin though many said he was already a Jonin ninja and a Sannin as well. he was one step closer to being a Hokage and it made him happy that he had finally helped bring peace to the land.

As he got out of his new apartment fully dressed and carrying the Toad Summoning contract on his back, he was smiling as he spotted Sai, Sakura, Hinata, Yamato, along with Konohamaru and Iruka and knew that there was a lot to do at the moment. However, he was suddenly alerted by the Kyuubi.

((Watch it kit....something doesn't feel right!!!))

(What are you saying Kyuubi?)

He heard a massive tearing sound behind him and he turned to see some sort of glowing gate in the shape of a star behind him, he didn't know what it was but then felt something dragging him towards it and he panicked and tried to get away but the force was too much and he was completely caught off guard by this.

Sakura and the others were shocked when the gate opened and began to suck Naruto in and they quickly rushed to try and help him, Hinata was very much terrified and shouted out.

"NARUTO-KUN!!!!!!"

It was too late as Naruto was sucked through the glowing symbol and it vanished....leaving the group stunned as Hinata and Sakura were shaken by what happened. Yamato turned and decided to hurry and report to Tsunade on what had just happened, he knew she was not going to like this

----

In another place...

Naruto shook his head as he felt like throwing up, he forced himself to relax and found himself in a forest and he felt a tingling in his body and the Kyuubi spoke.

((This place....it feels alive somehow, there's so much chakra here...where the heck are we?))

Naruto had no idea and moved up to the forest and climbed up a tree and as soon as he did so....he found himself in a totally alien world as there was no sign o the Hokage Monument anywhere and there was no sign of Konoha at all. It was then that he spotted a massive city and decided to move there.

(There's a city, maybe we can find some answers there.)

((I hope so....something about this place makes me feel different and I don't mean in a nice way.))

It had taken some time but Naruto arrived near the outskirts and saw the possible name of the city.

"Ohfun? What kind of a name is that?"

((Don't know either, but I am sensing a lot o chakra in that direction, we might as well head off there and see just what we can find.))

Naruto knew that he didn't have much in terms of options at the moment and decided to go down there and see just what was it he could find that could at least give him a clue as to how he got there in the first place.

--------

Later…

Naruto was getting all the more irritated by all this, this place known as Ohfun had literally nothing that he could associate with Konoha, there were no electrical posts, no Hokage Monument, No Konoha Academy, and worse yet....NO RAMEN!!!!! He had entered the city through the front gate as he replied that he was looking for someone to the guards which was not far from the truth and then they spotted the scroll on his back and apparently that was enough to let him come into the city.

(Where the hell am I?!)

Naruto tried to find anyone remotely familiar in Ohfun but had no such luck, it was weird being here, there seemed to be nothing that resembled anything he was familiar with back home, he had explored the city for the past two hours and still nothing. However, the blonde Chuunin felt something and turned to see a stall that had some artifacts in them and he felt great energy coming from some of them.

He moved closer and looked at them and the stall owner spoke.

"Hey there friend! care to buy some magical wares for your studies?"

"Huh? Magical studies?"

The store own were surprised at this and wondered just who he was, he was not dressed as a swordsman and that massive scroll on his back must mean he was a mage of some sort. Maybe he was suffering from some side effect of a spell, it was not unusual for some spells to cause some slight memory loss, or so he heard.

"Yeah, are you a student of the Magic Guild?"

(Magic?)

((I should have known....that thing that dragged us here is a magical portal!!!!!))

(Magical Portal? What are you saying Kyuubi?)

((It'll take a while to explain, but magical portals are ancient gateways from other worlds, I encountered a few when I was younger, whoever opened that portal must have dragged us here.))

(Do you think magic can bring us back to Konoha?)

((Possible, but we're going to have to find a great source of power as well as a powerful enough magic user to get us there, Magic is a bit like chakra manipulation and control, though it usually needs a medium of some sort to channel the power better. That Magic Guild might have the answers we need.))

Naruto thought about it and knew that now was the time to lie somewhat.

"No, I just arrived here..."

"Oh? So you're a new arrival hoping to study here?"

"You might say that. Do you know where I can find the Magic Guild?"

"Yeah, it's in the Academic Quarter of the City and you can't miss it, it's got the highest Tower here in the city. Oh yeah, there was a young mage who passed by here and was on her way to the Academy, she's got red hair with a long tail on the back and wears glasses."

Naruto nodded and left, hoping to find the person described to him by the stall owner, he then decided to hit the walls and climb the roofs and quickly did so with ease, much to the surprise of some of the people nearby, he quickly leaped over the roofs of several buildings and searched as best he could.

He then heard a cry.

"Leave me alone!"

The voice was female and Naruto could tell that the person was indeed in trouble and he headed in that direction and when he arrived there were a couple of unwashed thugs cornering a young woman, who had deep red hair and glasses. Naruto realized that this person must be the one that the stall owner mentioned, but damn, she was attractive...Naruto managed to get his head out of that train of thought for a moment and could tell that the thugs were up to something and he had to help.

----

Ila was not happy with this as she tried to ready a spell, the thugs were following her when she left the eyes of the City Watch after shopping in the Magical artifacts Quarter of Ohfun, she tried to lose them in the alleys, but since she had not ventured out as often from the Guild like the other students, she had no idea about the city as much as they did and now here she was.

"Stay away from me!!!"

The men laughed, they were very much not going to listen as they were aware she had the look of a merchant's daughter and would be worth a lot of money to her folks, plus it had been a while.

"Don't worry little lday, we're just going to have some fun with you..."

"Yeah....it's been a while now."

The lustful looks they had on their faces were not lost to Ila and she felt even greater panic as she tried to focus her spell and then unleashed a powerful flare. that was enough to surprise the thugs and she tried to escape, but one of them tripped her and she lost her glasses. She felt a hand grab her arm wickedly and the voice of the thug.

"So a magic user eh? This will be great!!!"

Ila was about to cry and wish for rescue...

She got her wish when the thug gave out a cry of pain and released her, she scrambled away and managed to find her glasses as she heard several more shouts of pain and when she got on her glasses, she realized that she and her tormentors were not alone as another was there.

"Leave the lady alone you rats."

Ila looked at her rescuer and found herself staring at a young man with spiky blonde hair and wore some sort of long sleeved shirt in black and pants along with sandals and a red long coat with black flames, and a massive scroll on his back as well as a pouch of some sort on his left leg. She then looked at the face and gasped as she saw that his rescuer was handsome. he had deep blue eyes and a well featured face and there were three marks on his cheeks that didn't detract his features at all. The headband on his head had s strange spiral symbol that resembled a leaf.

(Hey, Minato was considered very handsome and since Jiraiya stated that Naruto looks so much like his father, then no doubt Naruto at the age of 17 is going to look like his old man.)

The thugs got up and Ila saw that some of them were wounded by strange star shaped metallic weapons and they got those out and threw them away and their took out their weapons such as knives and short swords.

"You punk!!!"

"We're going to cut you up!"

Naruto glared at that and replied.

"I don't think so....KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!!!!"

Ila and the thugs were dumbfounded as there were explosions of smoke then instead of one man there were a dozen near him who looked just like him! Before the thugs could react, the group charged at them and began to unleash hell as Naruto and his Kage Bushin used his Taijutsu to fight with and since Gai had taught him a good number of moves to honor Kakashi, the blonde Chuunin had a level of skill equaling his old friend Lee when he was still a Genin.

The thugs were sent packing to the ground by the blows as they couldn't seem to defend themselves properly and they fell back to the ground with bruises and injuries in areas they had no idea they had.

The unknown arrival then offered his hand to one of the other copies and the other one began to move his hands and then there was a glowing sphere on the hand of the new arrival and then without any other words, the arrival slammed the sphere into a nearby wall.

The thugs and Ila were shocked by the massive explosion that followed, dust and stone fragments filled the air and when it cleared, the thugs gasped and felt like pissing in their pants as there was a massive hole in the wall and the man spoke them as he was joined by another copy and then the same sphere of glowing light came back into his hand.

"Unless you all want that to tear you all open I suggest you run."

The thugs took the advice and ran, taking on a man who could make copies of himself and hit like a sledge hammer was painful enough, but facing a mage who could rip them apart like they were tissue paper with that spell of his was something they were planning to stick around for.

Ila was impressed, she had never heard of that move before and it was impressive indeed that her rescuer could do that without a wand. She looked at her rescuer as he offered his hand to help her get up from the ground she was sitting on. She blushed a bit and accepted his hand and as soon as she got up, she remembered her manners and spoke.

"Thank you, my name is Ila."

Naruto smiled at that and replied back.

"My name's Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki."

It was then that the City Watch arrived and so did a certain head master of the Magic Guild. Head Master Carwess had been on a routine trip to the market to check the latest supply of goods and magical components to add to the Academy selection when he detected a massive spike in the spiritual energies and when he arrived it was to see several unwashed men running away as if they had seen a Dragon chasing them. It was then when Ila arrived with a new arrival, someone he didn't recognize and when he saw the wall, he could see the devastation there and couldn't help but sense the energies released by the elemental spirits. And as he looked at the young man who walked with Ila towards him he could see a great deal of power coming from him. This young man would prove an interesting person.

Later…

Both Ila, her classmate Gene, and Carwess watched as Naruto downed the food before at a very rapid pace. They were not used to seeing someone pack away so much food before in their lives, Naruto had eaten a whole roasted chicken, some bread, three beef steaks and a lot of hot soup made from fish, squid, and crabs. Where was he putting it all?!

Naruto had no idea he was this hungry and as much as he wanted to have ramen, he had to make due, he already knew that using ryo was out of the question as paper money was no doubt worthless as he had seen the people pay with solid coins of gold, thus he would have to find other means to get funding, but at least he was getting a free meal.

As soon as he was done, he gave a sigh and replied.

"Now I am full, thanks a great deal for the food, uh Mister Carwess."

Carwess smiled at that, he had always been called Master Carwess before and being called Mister was something of a change.

"You are quite welcome Naruto, I have to thank you for saving one of my Academy's students."

"Yes! That was amazing the way you were able to make those copies of yourself and then summoning that massive energy sphere to send those men running! And without a wand too"

"What do you mean by that Ila?"

Ila smiled as she looked at her new friend with a great deal of hero worship in her eyes as she began to explain what she had seen Naruto do to save her life to Carwess.

"It was amazing Master Carwess! He threw those star like weapons at the thugs to wound them and then created copies of himself without a wand! He and the copies attacked so fast! BAM, WHAP! And defeated the thugs like they were mere children and he then used one of the copies to create a sphere of pure light and then he slammed it into the wall and it exploded!!! BOOM!!! When the dust cleared, there was a massive hole in the wall and when Naruto and his copy made another one, the thugs just left!!!!"

Carwess was intrigued, as head of the Magic Guild he was familiar with spells that could create copies of the caster, but he had never heard of it being done without a wand before, if this young man was able to do that without a wand, then he would make a powerful mage indeed with the right training.

Naruto scratched his head and wondered just what he was going to do on how to explain his abilities, apparently the people here were not all that familiar with chakra and he would have to explain it again. It was confusing already to be somewhere where no one knew who or what he was, not to mention that the things he normally knew existed, like TV, electricity, refrigeration and more were not around and that was beginning to annoy him to no end but these were nice people and he needed help and since Ila and Carwess as well as Gene were magic users, they could help him.

"Actually, that wasn't magic."

"Oh? You're not a magic user? I rather doubt that, anyone who could create copies of himself and then create powerful sphere of energy must be a magic user".

Naruto shook his head and replied.

"Those things I did required me to use chakra actually, they don't use magic."

Ila, Gene and Carwess were surprised by this as they had never heard of chakra before and the head of the Magic Guild in Ohfun decided to ask the question.

"What is chakra Naruto?'

Naruto scratched his head and wished that he had more time to explain things but decided to do what he could in order to educate his companions. He thought back of the lectures he had in the Academy as well as Iruka's words on the matter concerning chakra.

"Chakra is an energy source in living things such as plants, animals and people, they come from two sources, the physical energy inherent in the body and the cells and the second source is from the spiritual and mental one gets from exercise and experience. We use chakra where I come from to create jutsus."

"J-Justus?"

Naruto nodded and replied.

"Jutsus are techniques that rely on chakra exclusively to be used, Jutsus like the Kage Bushin No Jutsu require a great deal of chakra, so low level jutsus require very little. The size and complex nature of the jutsu means you use up more chakra to do the jutsu successfully so you might call it magic where I come from. Charka even has an elemental affinity which can make it useful for certain jutsus that require elemental affinity.."

"Elemental affinity?"

"Yep, there are at least five elemental chakra types where I came from, Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, and Lightning. Back home, we use a special paper grown from trees fed with chakra that reacts when chakra is passed through it, fire burns it to ash, lightning crumples it, earth makes it fall apart, wind rips it into two, and water soaks it. For me I'm a Wind chakra type so I'm more attuned to using Wind based Jutsu. Sometimes two chakra types can fuse to create a totally different element and that can be very powerful. We mostly use hand seals to use chakra properly for a jutsu and there are many combinations."

"Interesting…so where is it that you come from Naruto? I have never heard of things like this before in my many years before I settled to found the Magic Academy here in Ohfun. Are there others like you?"

Naruto looked about and was very worried about what he was going to have to say, as much as he needed help from Carwess and Ila, if they could help at all. The blonde Chuunin knew that he had to be in a much safer place to get things done and he spoke to them.

"I don't think being in a restaurant is the right place to discuss these matters, is there anywhere else a lot more…private?"

Carwess could tell that this was serious indeed and knew of two places they could go, and since that one was a bit closer, then all the better, plus he had an old friend that could be willing to hear this.

--------

In the Temple of Mylee…

"Wow….what a place…."

Naruto had seen a lot of places for the past many years, yet this one was amazing, this was the first time he had ever walked into a temple as Carwess called it and there were a huge number of people there in the temple and all dressed in some sort of white long dress and had embroidery on them plus a short of short cape in green or light blue colors and some sort of cap….to his amazement, a vast majority of them were women…and many of them were attractive. Ila had wanted to come with them but she had to head back as she was still needing to study for her lessons.

He still hoped to see Sakura and Hinata again so he managed to get his thoughts back on track but had to admit that seeing a beautiful woman or more than one beautiful woman could grab him easily. He was older now and maybe his Pervy Sage of a teacher had finally rubbed off on him. Naruto gave a sad thought of the Pervy sage who was his Godfather and his father's sensei as well. He placed those thoughts aside as they entered a large room and then there was a table and some chairs and there was a woman with long auburn hair there wearing robes that were the same but different from Carwess, almost more holy in nature, reminding him of Shion's own robes as a Priestess, she had a motherly smile and that made him feel more at ease.

"Hello there Carwess, it's always a pleasure to see you here."

Carwess smiled and responded.

"It's good to see you too Jenny, I would like you to meet Naruto Uzumaki, a lad with an exceptional gift and as far as I can see, a great deal of potential as a sorcerer. But he has much to tell us and some of it is too private to be anywhere else.."

"I see…welcome then Naruto Uzumaki, My name is Jenny and I am Head Priestess of Mylee the War God, Carwess and I were partners and good friends for many years and I am happy to welcome you here."

Naruto smiled as he could tell that Jenny meant her greetings and he felt a bit more at ease. As the three of them sat down, a acolyte brought some refreshments to the room and left, and as soon as he was ready, he spoke to the two friends.

He told them of the history of his world and how it came to be and what ninjas were and who he was, Jenny was somewhat surprised to learn that ninjas were assassins and explained that assassins were reviled by many in this world and by it's people but Naruto explained that only on very desperate situations was assassination called for. He told them about chakra and all that he knew about it as well as what he had learned from Iruka, Kakashi, and Jiraiya as well as Tsunade and Shizune. He even told them that he could sense that the two of them had considerable chakra and with the right training, both mental, spiritual, and physical, both of them could make very good level ninjas.

He told them also of the village he came from without getting into too much detail, as well as the lands and customs of the places he had seen in his many years and his own adventures with his team and then he moved to a topic that he knew would be hard for him.

The bijuu or the tailed beasts...

Carwess and Jenny were shocked at hearing about the existence of such powerful and malevolent entities and the fact that he harbored one inside of him made them uneasy, let alone the most powerful of their kind, he couldn't blame them he was committing a mistake telling them this, but he had grown up and he had changed, thanks to so many people. He told them about Iruka who stood by him even when the truth came out, about Gaara who was like him and how he had changed the former Jinchuuriki of Shukaku, as well as Iruka, Chiyo, Jiraiya, Shizune, Tsunade who trusted him with the future, and of course his parents and his father Minato who taught him the jutsu to finally be able to become the child of destiny he was destined to be. He also told them of his friends who were very important to him and no doubt who were waiting for him to return home.

As he was finished with that part, he explained how he landed here in their world and then asked them the question that was very important to him.

"I know what I told you is hard to believe and believe me, even I can't believe it, but I am from another world and I need help getting back there, a lot of my friends are very worried about me and I want to make sure that I can see them again, since both of you are magic users, maybe you can help me get home?"

Carwess and Jenny had to admit that Naruto's story was very incredible, but they knew that their powers were not enough; the description of what Naruto saw convinced them that it was a magical portal that brought him to their world from his own. The problem was that the magic needed for it was not easy for one to have in the body and would require a powerful source of magical energy, not to mention that it required a powerful device to focus such energy to create and stabilize the portal. However there was a chance for Naruto to return home, but he still needed to learn as much as he could about magic to learn as much as he needed in order to get home to his own world. He had the potential and the ability after all and he could very well learn magic.

Carwess was the first to work on the idea.

"Naruto, from what you've told Jenny and I, you were taken into this world from a dimensional magic portal and no doubt it was powered by something that required a considerable amount of power, neither Jenny or I have that power….however, we have a solution."

Naruto was disappointed at first at hearing that the two couldn't help him, but hearing that they had a solution, he was already all ears.

"Go on."

"The records we have in the Magic Guild in Ohfun can be able to help you in finding the materials, artifacts and also the possible locations of power where you can make a portal, however it will not be an easy thing. Access to such information is normally restricted to outsiders unless you become a student in the Magic Guild. Not only that, you have to be familiar with magic and magical artifacts as well, which requires years of study and hard dedication. That is why I would like to offer you a personal invitation to be a student in the Magic Guild here in Ohfun. It can help you uncover the information that you seek, as well as learn the magical skill and ability needed in making a portal, portals are hard to make in themselves, but without the skill needed to maintain and direct them, you could wind up in another place entirely. Is it all right for you Naruto?"

Jenny then replied.

"There are many ruins and artifacts that can help you find a way to return home young Naruto, but only if you know just where to look and how to use them. I believe learning magic will go a long way in helping you while you are here so I have to agree with Master Carwess' suggestion that you study in the Academy Naruto."

Naruto thought it over and then the Kyuubi spoke to him.

((I suggest you take their advice kit, they know magic and they are right, unless you know what you're doing, how you control magic and you know what you need in order to make the portal, you're going to be sent to who knows where.))

Naruto mulled it over and decided that if this was the best way for him to find his way back home to Konoha and keep it from harm, then he might as well learn as much as he could about magic, and what else could prove useful for him. After all, he could use the things here to help better himself in the long run, his quest to be a Hokage was not over yet and also his desire to make peace and happiness in the world he lived in like his sensei Jiraiya did was not gone just yet, plus his desire to use his own way to bring peace as his father wanted him to do was there. He might be here by accident, but he could always do his best no matter the odds. With that in mind he nodded to both Carwess and Jenny and replied.

"Thank you for letting me do this, I will do my best to learn magic, and I will do my best not to be a burden to you both."

Carwess and Jenny smiled at this, they both knew that while this was highly unusual by most if not all standards but they both could tell that Naruto would be a very interesting person. And they could see that despite his past he was a strong person and had overcome many things to become the young man before them, and that made him all the more an interesting young man.

Carwess then spoke for both Jenny and himself.

"Then I, Carwess of the Magic Guild of Ohfun, welcome you Naruto Uzumaki to the Magic Guild."

--------

In another part of Naruto's new world…

Rolf coughed as the dust cleared and saw that the tower had collapsed, the strain of the magical energies had weakened and destroyed the device as well as the tower, but he had the blue prints with him and that would help him a great deal in perfecting the device when the time came for him to try again, he would have to rebuild his funds, to buy the materials he needed and the time to work in peace.

But with these plans, this new device could usher in a new era for all of the land.

--------

To be continued…

------

Author's notes:

Well, that should do it, it's a bit rough drawn but so was Naruto Dragon Champion when it first started out.

I hope this fic will do well in the long run and it will not be as long as the other stories I've made so far.


	2. Chapter 2

Rune Soldier Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Naruto or Rune Soldier Louie, so don't ask me that question.

Chapter 1

Back to School…

( ): Thoughts/Conversation with the Kyuubi

(( )): Kyuubi's voice

--------

A few months later…

Foltess looked over his list of students for the day and turned to see none other than Naruto Uzumaki sleeping on his desk yet again, and that galled him even more at the moment. The blond was always sleeping in class whenever Foltess was around and the elderly instructor wondered if Naruto was always doing this just to annoy him to no end. However he decided to not focus on it and went on with the lecture. The elderly instructor did his best to focus on the lesson but it seemed that Naruto was snoring even more and it was getting on his nerves, and he knew that he would have to do something soon enough.

As soon as he finished his lecture on the use of higher level elemental shield spells, he turned and spoke to Naruto.

"Naruto Uzumaki….wake up and tell me if you had been paying attention?"

The Only response he got from Naruto was a snore as the blonde continued to snore and it was not long before a vein popped on Foltess's head and he roared at the blonde ninja who was still snoring.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI!!!! WAKE UP!!!!"

The other students would have cringed in fear at the way Foltess looked at the moment, roaring like an ogre in a foul mood. But still Naruto continued to snore, uncaring for the elderly instructor's anger and it was not long before Foltess decided that he had enough and was about to use his wand to whack Naruto on the head. As soon as he hit it however, the blonde grabbed his wand and replied.

"I'm trying to sleep here for Kami's sake, stop making so much racket."

Foltess glared and spoke evenly, trying desperately not to lose his temper.

"You will release my wand right now Naruto Uzumaki, or you are going to be in serious trouble."

"Right….bye!"

Foltess and the other students blinked as the blonde mage in training poofed away in a cloud of smoke and was gone.

(He used that trick again!!! Argh!!!!)

Foltess tried to keep his temper from hitting the roof, every day it was the same thing for the past ten months, the blonde would always fall asleep in his classes and then when he was about to discipline him, he just poofed away and it was maddening to the instructor how disrespectful Naruto was. He was the most senior instructor in the whole Guild and was to be respected and feared by all students, but not Naruto…

No, the blonde didn't seem to care and did what he liked in his time in the class room and the elderly instructor wondered if he was doing all this just for the pleasure of annoying him, There were also times that when he tried to get Naruto do his lessons physically, the blonde would disappear for hours and when he had hoped the blonde student would suffer for his laziness, he was shocked to learn that not only had he passed the written tests with good scores, but he was able to apply magic in ways Foltess and some other instructors had never thought possible.

Many other students have learned to steer clear of Naruto when he was angry, a number of higher seniority students had tried to bully him, as well as taunt him for his lower borne origins and his use of such unknown unarmed combat skills, but they were quick to be silent as Naruto reacted in very unorthodox but highly effective ways. There had been some who had their potions explode and coat them with chemicals, others had their rooms painted with not juts paint….but….refuse, others would find their robes coated with some sort of powder and it would burn their clothes so fast when they put them on that they would be naked. Other times, Naruto would use his unarmed combat skills to pound them silent. The Academy infirmary would have a lot of students there in their care when some of the more head strong students failed to get the message.

Most other students however found Naruto's antics to be somewhat humorous and entertaining, even some instructors and Carwess found it humorous and very entertaining as well, much to Foltess' disgust on the matter and he wished that he was able to finally remove Naruto from the grounds of the Academy, but since he had been invited by Carwess and sponsored by the head of the Guild, there was not much Foltess could do.

(This would never be the case if I was head of the Guild.)

Foltess knew that now was not the time, he decided to left Naruto have his way for now, he would deal with him later.

Unknown to him, the target of his anger was actually elsewhere at the moment. Naruto had sent another Kage Bushin to listen into Foltess' lecture on how to use magic for this day while sending yet another in the library archives to read up on new books, Naruto never was fan of studying but after all he had been through in his own world, he realized that education was good to have, of course, he was not very happy with Foltess…

In Naruto's way of seeing things, Foltess loved to talk a lot, no doubt because he thought he was better than other students and instructors and he liked his own voice, which reminded him of the times he had to deal with Ebisu's long winded lecture. However, Naruto thought differently about the Elite Jonin sensei of his young buddy Konohamaru.

(But at least unlike Foltess, Ebisu's a good guy in real life.)

Ebisu had once been a person who looked down on him due to him being the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, but after learning the Water Walking technique from the Jonin he had to admit that despite Ebisu's closet pervert tendencies he was a good teacher, and after hearing how Ebisu was willing to die than let Pain know where he was when Pain attacked Konoha, he and Ebisu had a better relationship, though Ebisu was still as professional as ever.

Foltess on the other hand was too much of a man with too high an opinion of himself and despite being skilled in magic, Naruto knew that he was not perfect, the guy was too strict, had too much an overinflated ego and more….that was probably why the blonde Chuunin enjoyed teasing and annoying Foltess. Besides, without any form of magic, Naruto doubted he'd survive that long on his own.

But he did limit his antics as he did what he could to learn as much as possible from the windbag, after filtering his rhetoric of course. He needed as much information as he could as he had learned that there were PLENTY of dangers in this world which could inhibit his chances of finding the portal that could help him speed his way home.

While he had no doubt that the others back in Konoha would do all right, he was still determined to be there since despite the defeat of Akatsuki and Madara, as well as Sasuke, there was always going to be dangers, plus his dream was yet unfulfilled. He was still a Chuunin and he wanted to take the next step and accomplish his dream to be Hokage and be officially recognized as Jonin.

And he was not going to accomplish it being here for the rest of his life. He wanted to make sure that he could cover all the bases before he tried anything to get back home, or even communicate with Konoha with his Toad Summoning Contract Scroll. Gamabunta was still out and being tended to by the other toads back in their home and he recalled the fact that Gamabunta had a nasty temper when summoned for no reason. The other Toads also had to deal with the injuries of the other toads and heal as well. He could summon Gamakichi, but he was not sure if it would be able to work yet.

As he got off the roof and entered the hallways to head out, he felt the knowledge come to him from the two Kage Bushin and decided to go grab something to eat at Ohfun' restaurant and entertainment quarter, he was still missing ramen but at least he could try other foods as well. And then he could go and get some free time training in his Ninjitsu, Taijutsu, and even try his hand at dispelling Genjutsu, something he and the Kyuubi had worked on.

"Naruto!"

Naruto turned and was ready for a fight and reached for a kunai from his hip pouch when he recognized the speaker to be Ila…and he smiled in greeting her.

Ila had grown considerably in the past few months and had gone from the knobby kneed skinny adolescent to a full bloomed woman and she was more than looking the part. Ila smiled at her friend and wanted to know just what he was up to this time. Over the months, Ila had found herself getting very attracted to the blonde student. It had made her very happy to hear that he had been able to enter the Guild under Carwess' invitation and she wanted to get his attention.

And truth be told, Naruto was affected by that, after all, he was already 17 and he found women to be very attractive and Ila was no exception to the rule and he was tempted to flirt back when she did, but he was still very much attached to Hinata and Sakura who were important to him, they had become very close for the past year after all that had happened and while the idea of being with them was very nice to his mind, he was not sure that getting into a romance with Ila was a good idea when he would get back to his world. Still Ila was someone he was attracted to, and she was a good friend after all.

"Oh, it's just you Ila! What's up?"

"Are you skipping class again? Master Foltess is going to blow a gasket if you do that again."

Naruto snorted a bit and replied.

"I already got as much as I could from Foltess for the day, I don't think listening to him drone on again is going to do me much good anyway."

"But he'll have you sent to the forest to get fire wood again!"

Naruto shrugged at that. Back in his travels with his fellow ninja they had to learn survival in the wild and after being with the Pervy Sage for a number of years on the move, he was more than skilled in handling himself in the wild.

"Big deal, at least I get to do something productive with my time, plus being outside of the class room is very nice. Plus I have some privacy there too to get the chance to perfect my techniques a good deal more."

Ila sighed at that, and wished she had the adventuring spirit of her friend, nothing would please her more than to go out on an adventure with Naruto. But she was a novice and Naruto had accomplished quite a lot in a few months that normally took her years before she met him. He had mastered a number of high level spells and was very creative in his ways of learning spells and making new ones, something that gained a great deal of admiration from the more relaxed and accepting instructors and students.

There were those who disliked Naruto's successes and they wanted to do what they could to learn Naruto's talents and upstage him to prove they were better. There were two of the worst ones…

"So, you're going to be sent to the forest to start hauling wood again Naruto? Good, you belong in the forest with all the wild animals!"

"Bro, that's harsh, Naruto would insult the animals if he was with them, he deserves to be elsewhere….say the garbage dump hauling trash instead of wood."

"Good point brother."

Both Ila and Naruto turned and there before them were two of Naruto's tormentors, Garret and his younger brother Hayden. Both twins had silver hair and deep green eyes and had been thorns on Naruto and Ila's side for all the times he had been a student here.

Garret was the taller one as well as thinner in body strength while Hayden was the shorter one but a bit pudgy, though not that fat in the least. Both of them sneered at the blonde Chuunin and it grated on Naruto's nerves that he had to deal with these two windbags yet again. The two had been a pain in his ass for a long time now and it was getting to the point Naruto was in the mood to do something drastic and painful to the two of them for them to get the message that he had had enough of their antics for one life time.

Garret started first.

"Going out to train once more with those stupid techniques of yours Naruto? At the rate you're going, you would be an old man before you even graduate."

"He's right, maybe by the time you do graduate, Ila would be free of your influence."

Hayden gave Ila a leering look, much to Ila's disgust and Naruto's own temper. The younger of the twins had an unhealthy obsession with Ila and had been trying to get her affections for some time now, Ila flatly refused to have any sort of relationship and Hayden didn't take too kindly to that and continued to annoy Ila. When he showed up, he started standing up for Ila and that got Hayden to dislike him, Garret was also there to annoy him since before Garret had once been a top student and many respected and feared him, but that all changed.

"I won't go out with you Hayden in a million years."

Naruto then replied.

"If I were to recall, those said techniques were the reason I pounded you and your little brother to the ground last week."

Garret and Hayden growled at that and they recalled the time they had challenged him to a two on one duel with magic and they had made the rule of Naruto having an Arcane Reduction Bracelet on him.

--------

Flashback…

Naruto gave a growl as he held his wand while the two brothers were looking smugly at him, Garret was before Naruto and wielding his wand that had a glowing shield while Hayden had his wand ready to unleash his attacks from relative safety. The brothers then smiled as Naruto unleashed three more fireballs at them which garret blocked and both brothers taunted him.

"Not bad Naruto, you were able to learn the Dragon's Fire Blast, but thankfully we both have learned the Holy Light's Shield from Master Foltess while you slept through his class and used that cloning technique of yours. This shield protects us from all attacks and with that Arcane Reduction Bracelet, your attacks are now at half strength!"

Naruto knew that to be true and decided to try an aerial attack but got the same results, and both brothers laughed, while Foltess looked on with a smile. It was about time that Naruto got some form of punishment and what better way to do that than to use this device, it was forbidden to use magical means to punish students in some cases, but he allowed it when Garret and Hayden issued their challenge to Naruto. Now maybe that blonde loudmouth would learn his place!

Unfortunately for them and Foltess, Naruto had NOT been sleeping in Foltess' class, or rather his Kage Bushin had not been sleeping in Foltess' class so he was familiar with the spell itself, and had secretly used it before when he was able to get some free time away from the Academy, he had one Kage Bushin use the wand for the spell and figured out that while the spell was able to block all attacks, it had to be directed as a shield, making it capable of only being able to protect the caster in a certain direction and now he had an idea of how to deal with the two annoyances.

He turned to Ila and spoke to is friend as he tossed her his wand.

"Ila! Hold onto this for me!"

Ila caught the wand and both brothers laughed at Naruto as Garret replied.

"Are you going to use that sphere technique you use a great deal? Try it, my shield will block your attacks easily as we know you have to get close to use it!"

"And when you do, I'm going to pound you with another barrage of attacks and you can't get to us!"

Both brother mages sneered at Naruto but Naruto relaxed, they were unaware of the fact that Naruto was not going to make the mistake of charging in recklessly, he had grown more cunning and a lot more intelligent than that, he knew the shield's weakness and he knew that unlike his former enemy and current friend Neji Hyuuga, their shield couldn't cover them effectively as the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation technique of the Hyuuga family, and he was inspired by that memory very quickly. With that in mind, Naruto summoned his Kage Bushin and then got ready.

Garret and Hayden couldn't resist the urge to taunt Naruto as they saw him make a group of four Kage Bushin and replied.

"You're using them? You use them only escape classes Naruto! They're no good to you at all. Why don't you give up now so we'll show you some mercy?"

Naruto snorted and replied.

"Spare me your antics, you two don't know the word mercy if it came up and crawled into your asses and stayed there."

Both brothers fumed and that was what Naruto needed as he made his Rasengan and then he and his group of Kage Bushin charged at Garret and Hayden, with the Kage Bushin moving ahead. The brothers then attacked with Garret handling defense while Hayden unleashed several more fire balls, three of the Kage Bushin took the hits and poofed away and another moved to the ground as if hit by another fireball, they ignored that one and focused on the one carrying the sphere of light who was running towards them.

The two got ready to counter as Naruto got closer… but to their surprise, Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke t and then they were greeted by the sounds of tearing earth beneath them and before they could react, Naruto appeared and then gave the two of them uppercuts to the chin and sent them flying, Naruto then ran up the nearby wall with ease and he summoned several more Kage Bushin and then he unleashed an aerial version of his Uzumaki Rendan on the two, kicking them higher and higher until he and a handful of Kage Bushin performed the Spinning Heel Drop that slammed hard into both Garret and Hayden and the two of them crashed hard into the ground.

When the dust settled, both twins were bruised and aching in places they never knew they had and the only thing they could see was Naruto glaring at the two of them with a smile as his Kage Bushin did the same before they poofed away as they fell unconscious. Naruto had actually been the one that fell to the ground and used a Kage Bushin to take his place on the ground and had dug his way to both Garret and Hayden from underneath….mirroring the same method he had used to beat Neji in the Chuunin Exams, and the one using the Rasengan was actually a Kage Bushin in his place, showing that he had grown a lot more in tactics since his youth.

Ila cheered and so did the other students who were in good terms with the blonde Chuunin..

From his vantage point, Foltess was fuming mad and he was flabbergasted, even with the Arcane Reduction Bracelet, Naruto still won and that fact raised his temper to the point he lost his cool.

"How can he have won with that Bracelet on?! That Arcane Reduction Bracelet should have rendered him weaker than even a novice! I allowed that to be used by Garret and Hayden to punish that blonde dolt, and he still WON?!"

It was then that Foltess wished he had kept silent for at that moment…

"Foltess….perhaps you would like to explain something to me and Master Carwess about this recent escapade of yours."

Foltess gulped and there was Master Carwess and Head Priestess Jenny, and both of them were not in a very good mood. Jenny was naturally the first to speak.

"You actually allowed the use of an Arcane Reduction Bracelet even if such methods is forbidden by the rules of the Guild? You realize you are skirting the edges of being expelled from this Guild for that?"

Carwess then spoke.

"I made the rule of not using magical means to punish students clear for years now Foltess, explain to me why you have allowed this against my direct orders?"

Foltess gulped while Garret and Hayden were taken away to be treated in the infirmary.

--------

End of Flashback…

Garret spoke first.

"That was nothing more than a fluke, you cheated in that duel!!!"

Ila was naturally outraged and spoke.

"That is enough! How can Naruto even cheat when he had an Arcane Reduction bracelet on? And there were TWO of you to begin with? If anyone here are cheaters it's you two!"

Garret and Hayden growled and they knew that there was no way they could get their edges in, they had tried everything to learn how Naruto was able to get to the level he was now.

Both of them were from a well known family of mages and they had expected to be graduating with top honors and they had been in the magic guild longer than the others and had seniority over both Naruto and Ila, they were respected and feared…until the two of them showed up.

Ila was a very intelligent woman and had a great degree of knowledge, and skills, surprising many Guild instructors and other students with her knowledge of magical artifacts, potions, ancient languages and more.

Naruto was known not just for his unusual skills and combat abilities, but his amazing ability to learn high level spells and make new ones from previously learned spells in a matter of time that was astonishing, making a very skilled magic user despite being younger than them.

It had reached a point that the brothers wanted to do everything in their power to have them removed from the Magic Guild, and Hayden wanted to have Ila for himself, at first they had a slightly easier time with Ila, but when Naruto told her to stand up for herself and she followed her friend's advice, they had be cautious, since Ila was using her intellect against them while Naruto used his cunning and his abilities that still mystified them.

Garret had enough and turned away wordlessly while Hayden followed him, that left Naruto and Ila alone and Ila sighed as she held Naruto's arm and came a bit closer to him and spoke to Naruto.

"I wish those two would just leave you and me alone, they have their own studies to consider and not waste time annoying you or me."

"You said it Ila, I don't know what's with them, but I can bet they really have an axe to grind on me, but I've got better things to worry about than those two."

Ila smiled at that and she blushed a bit and that made Naruto curious as to why she was blushing. He was not that dense after all and he spoke to Ila.

"Hey, you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine….say, are you going to be busy later?"

Naruto had a feeling that with what he had in mind for his training, he would be busy and as much as he would like to go out on a date with Ila, now wasn't the time, besides, he still had to meet Ila's parents and the last he wanted was to make a bad impression on the folks.

"I think so, no doubt old windbag Foltess is going to try to run me ragged again, see you Ila."

With that Naruto left to get ready for the inevitable shouting barrage that was going to come for the elderly mage.

--------

In the forest…

After cutting down the amount of fire wood needed and placing them into the cart provided to him by the Guild's stable master.

Naruto had finally settled the targets for his latest training exercise of the day and he was eager to test the newly made kunai he had on hand, this was basic training but he was still eager to see just how much he had improved over the past few months while stuck in this new world, the throwing daggers were nice, but felt more comfortable with kunai in hand and as soon as he was ready, he got a fair distance from the forest and looked at the sun, he planned to get this routine down before night fall, that was when the monsters were usually out.

He found the various types of monsters in the archives to be rather interesting, he was very curious of there were actually dragons wandering about and wondered how tough one was in a fight. As soon as he finished with that train of thought, he went to work and ran through the obstacle course that he had set up.

The obstacle course had all the right number of traps and targets that he had to deal with back home and some were also including target dummies for close range and long range as he moved through the paces, he began to recall all of his training in his time back in his world as he leaped over trees, rocks and ran over water while throwing shuriken and kunai at each target and then even summoning his Kage Bushin to help him create his Rasengan attacks and used them for both close range and mid range attacks.

Naruto finally reached the final target and was ready to unleash his trump card jutsu, having perfected it a bit more since his last usage of it in his battles with Madara. But just as he was about to unleash it, the Kyuubi spoke to him.

((Hold it kit, we're not alone….))

Naruto stopped the move and quickly looked about and then seeing that his observer was not showing up, he wondered if it was Garret and Hayden, but felt that they were not there, they had a unique chakra signature and the one he was sensing was not the two idiots. With that in mind he spoke.

"Whoever you are, I suggest you show yourself, I know you're here."

Naruto was about to reach his kunai when the voice of a female spoke out.

"Stop… I am coming out."

Naruto turned and there before him appeared a blonde woman with long pointed ears and a very slender and somewhat buxom figure, That was when he was now facing one of the races he had been able to read about in the library of the Guild.

"Wow…you're an elf aren't you?"

Celecia nodded as she studied the young man before her, at the age of eighty four, by human standards, she would already be an old woman, but elves were immortal and didn't age the way humans did and such were more attuned with Nature, and the Spirit world than most humans. In elven reckoning however, Celecia was still very much a young adolescent though her figure said otherwise in human eyes, she was armed with a slender elven short sword for defense along with a knife and wore a strong enchanted vest of leather and mail for protection.

She had been out on patrol and to gather herbs for salves and potions when she heard the commotion and felt something different in the air, she stayed out of sight until she saw the young man moving through the obstacle course. And in that moment, she found herself intrigued by the young human. This human possessed considerable power in terms of the arcane and also she sensed a great deal of energy within him that was unlike anything she had seen before…not to mention that fact for a human, he wasn't bad looking, she had seen the glowing blue sphere that he used in close combat and also as a throwing weapon. It was something she had never seen before and was amazed at the energy that she felt from it, However, she was curious as to how he was able to sense her despite her concealing spell.

"I am an elf, that is true, but how were you able to sense me?"

Naruto shrugged as he replied.

"You're chakra stands out a lot."

"Ch…what did you say?"

"You're chakra energy, you have a lot of it and it's not hard to track, that concealing spell works well when hiding from normal eyes, but it doesn't filter chakra out very well."

"What energy are you talking about?"

Naruto sighed and knew that chakra was very much unknown and he decided that explaining it was not going to be enough for the elf before him, but before he could start, he wanted to know just who she was.

"Look, before we go any further on the matter of explaining why don't we introduce ourselves to one another, my name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Celecia."

"All right then…you want to know what chakra is right?"

Naruto then explained it as much as he could to the elf as Celecia listened intently to his words and she was surprised to hear about this chakra, she had been familiar with white, black and shamanistic magic, but never chakra and when Naruto revealed his chakra that was flowing out like blue light, she was further intrigued.

But things were cut short between the two as shouts came for Naruto to hurry up, no doubt Foltess had sent some students to keep an eye on him, when Naruto turned to reply, Celecia took her leave and Naruto was surprised to see her gone, but placed that aside as he packed up and got all his kunai and shuriken and left to get to the cart.

Celecia had to admit that this young man Naruto was interesting indeed, and she had a feeling that what she had seen him do was but a fraction of his abilities.

(For a human, he's interesting…)

--------

A few weeks later…

"You're going on a journey?"

Ila asked with considerable surprise as Naruto packed away his things. The blonde Chuunin had gathered enough information to go out and find out if the information could help him in finding a way home. Naruto turned and knew that Ila was not happy to see him go and he wanted to stay a bit longer, but the leads he found were too promising for him to ignore for long.

"I found some things that I need to check out, plus I need to head back home and say hello to my family back home…"

Ila wished she could go with Naruto and meet his family but with her studies being here in Ohfun, she couldn't leave and it hurt to know that she was not going to get her chance at being close to Naruto and that was not something she liked a lot and she couldn't help but wish he stayed a lot longer.

"But you're almost there, a few more weeks and you can…"

"Ila, I have to do this, this wasn't meant to be a permanent thing after all."

"But…"

Naruto sighed and held Ila's hand and spoke.

"Listen, I learned a lot here in the Guild and you have been a great friend to me, and so have Carwess-sensei and Miss Jenny as well, but I have to go and find my way in this world and if I can, see my own family and friends. But don't worry so much. I plan to visit when I can and I'll write letters every now and then all right?"

Ila sniffled and held back her tears and Naruto decided to give her something to remember him by.

"Here, I have something for you."

Ila looked and Naruto took out a small plate of metal on a short band of soft but durable leather with clasps and on the metal which was silver was the symbol of Konoha on it. Ila gasped at the gift as that was very much pure grade silver and Naruto then placed it on her right arm and placed it there.

"Take this Ila, you know I'll be back as long as you have it on okay?"

Ila ran her hand on the silver bracelet and smiled at Naruto as she wiped her tears and hugged him, happy to be given this gift, it wasn't a wedding present or an engagement ring as her fantasies had hoped, but it was nice enough for her that Naruto made it for her. Naruto hugged her right back afterwards and bid her farewell and she kissed him on the cheek, right on his whisker marks, making Naruto blush a bit more.

"You promise?"

"Of course! I am going to be Hokage someday so I will keep a promise that I make to those I care about."

Ila smiled, she had been told what Hokage meant and it was a term given to the leader in Naruto's home land and if there was one thing that she knew to be true

--------

In the Head Master's Room..

"So you're off to find your answers Naruto?"

Naruto nodded to Master Carwess and the two of them hugged one another as Carwess became like a father figure to Naruto and as soon as they parted Carwess smiled as he looked the young man over, though he had been here only a year, Naruto had become a very skilled mage with exceptional talents, though some parts of his abilities in magic was a bit spotty at best. Nevertheless, the young man's desire to succeed and his will to work hard to reach his goals were more than enough to make him a great mage.

Carwess then moved to his desk and removed a new wand and handed it to Naruto.

Naruto was somewhat surprised at that.

"You're giving me a new wand? Wasn't I supposed to get this after I graduate?"

"Naruto, the way I see it, you are more than ready to wield this wand, and if you need a new one, you'll have to be patient, it's not easy getting wands you know."

Naruto nodded and then bowed to Carwess and Carwess bowed back.

--------

In the Temple of Mylee…

"Hello Miss Jenny!"

Jenny turned to see the blonde ninja fully dressed and ready to go and she smiled at Naruto, Naruto had been teaching her how to use her chakra in a way that was similar to a medic Nin and she had reciprocated with teaching him the art of the sword and it was something she figured he would add with his arsenals, when he was there to train himself, and when he set his Kage Bushin to her for training, Jenny, like Carwess had been told by Naruto about the power of the Kage Bushin Jutsu and admitted that such a technique was truly powerful and it made them respect Naruto for his willingness to use such a method despite the risks.

The two of them hugged one another as she knew that Naruto was going out to find what he could to get the materials, devices and resources to get back him. Naruto was one of her best students in the art of sword play as well as in the art of first aid.

"I am going to miss you Naruto."

"Don't worry Miss Jenny, considering all I have learned from you and Carwess-sensei , I am more than able to handle myself."

Jenny laughed a bit and then took out a gift wrapped bundle.

"Here, I had this personally made for you to use when the time is right."

Naruto opened the bundle and saw that Jenny's gift was a katana, the sword was long, almost like the blade of a samurai but was straight and had a small hand guard that was in a circular design, almost the same as the same sword Sasuke used to have, but there was a fox head on the pommel and there were flame patterns on the flat of the blade, it was made from specially tempered and hardened steel as well as very well sharpened.

He admired the blade and then placed it back into the sheath and placed it on his back alongside his scroll for Toad Summoning through the long strap there and the two of them bowed to one another.

As soon as he got everything done, Naruto moved out of the gates of Ohfun to see the rest of the world he was in, as well as find answers on how to return home.

--------

A few months later…

The setting sun was on the forest and all seemed peaceful, unless one ignored the fact that a person was banging on what appeared to be a heavy stone slab, the sounds that came from it were not the kind associated with solid stone as echoes were heard, the holder of the dagger, a young petite woman wearing a tied on top, short vest, skirt, thigh high covers with leather shoes in them as well as a belt turned to her comrades and spoke.

"Yep, hollow as a casket this one, and five more if' I'm wrong."

"So it's just as we suspected."

The new speaker was a blonde woman with long hair and wore a cap with a short green cape, as well as a flowing white robe/dress and boots as well as some jewelry, the outfit was very much similar to the clothes worn by those of the Priestesses of Mylee and she was one herself not to mention a certain chest size.

The other woman, the smaller one who was no doubt a thief by trade and profession stoke to her comrades.

"There's a chance this ruin as SOME treasure worth our while, but I prefer we have something more agreeable than good faith to believe in."

"Merrill does have a point, can you find a way to break the door open Genie?"

The woman in question was a tall woman wearing a long cape made of dark brown leather. And wore some light but very serviceable clothes and had a massive broadsword on her back as well as a smaller but no less lethal Longsword strapped to her hip, she wore boots and had the muscles of a strong body builder but leaner and certainly not as large as well and impressive bust to add to the whole picture, along with some sort of tattoo on her left cheek, her hair was deep red and her skin was tanned bronze as well. She shook her head and replied.

"I doubt it Melissa, even I can't lift a slab of stone that size, any way you can do something about it Merrill?"

"Nope, unless I pick at it for a solid straight week, or we could try and find ourselves a magician and be able to go in, get the treasure and be back at Ohfun before the Happy Hour in the bar is over."

Melissa replied at that.

"There is a problem with the idea of us getting a magician, neither of us has that level of power and all my spells are centered on healing cures, defense and countering undead, not destroying solid stone."

It was then that a large number of goblins arrived and Melissa quickly got out her war hammer and Genie drew her sword while Merrill threw her daggers, but the weapons were forced out of the goblins and they knew that now was not the right time be out there. After they agreed to head back to Ohfun and get some food and drink and find a mage, they moved in to fight while Melissa prayed to Mylee to protect them in battle.

The three however decided to go separately in order to avoid getting caught in a bad situation and made their way to Ohfun on their own terms.

Elsewhere in the forest, a certain blonde ninja heard some very loud noises that were certainly the signs of fighting and he wondered just what that was all about. But focused on heading back to Ohfun, he was a day early but decided to relax before seeing Ila the next night, he had some stuff to take care of after all.

--------

In Ohfun' restaurant and entertainment district…

"Man….what a trip, at least I hope Damien's Bar is still open."

Naruto headed towards one of the restaurants he normally frequents in this part of the district and he was in the mood to grab some good food and then head off to get the latest news from the merchants who plied their trades in Ohfun. He had done his business with a small printing shop and had a lot of gold to save and use and was in the mood for a good meal. He had his wand on his back and his other times at the ready as well. However, he was hoping to finally have some good food to eat. He was still dressed in his usual attire of orange and black, and his long coat with red and black, he had his scroll on and his other gear as well as his sword on his back.

However, he heard a shout and then a moment later….a man wearing Knight's apprentice armor and carrying a sword was sent flying out of the window and Naruto gave the guy a quick looking over, definitely an apprentice knight and he looked through the window and saw that the bar before his usual haunt had gotten into a brawl.

As he walked in he spotted the people who apparently were the ones responsible for the situation before him.

One he recognized quickly by the cape, hat, robes, and orange sash as a Priestess of Mylee and not a very bad looking one too, blonde hair, violet eyes and a very attractive face and figure, though Naruto could tell that she was serious in what she does as a Priestess, he made it a note to ask Miss jenny just who she was since as far as she knew, he had not seen her before when he would be passing into the Temple on his training sessions with Jenny.

The other one who appeared to be tall was very well muscled and amazingly enough for a woman with a muscular frame like that she had a rather large bust, her skin was tanned and she had her red hair in a long braid tail at the back and quite the outfit and there was a tattoo on her left cheek as well, regardless, Naruto could tell from her posture that she knew how to use a sword and was physically strong, and judging by the look in her eyes, she was a skilled fighter, probably a former soldier or mercenary type.

The last one was a shorter girl and she was limber and petite, but from the way she held her knife, he could tell that she knew how to use it and while she didn't have the same muscular build as the sword wielder, she was strong and nimble, no doubt a thief from the way she moved. He had an encounter with thieves before and while he had not taken into stealing things back when he was a ninja, he had to admit that meeting thieves was a bit of an annoyance every now and then.

They were currently facing several guys who were dressed in the same fashion as the guy he saw that got tossed out the window, and no doubt the man was booted out by the tanned sword lady with the muscles.

He turned to the bar owner and asked the question.

"Hey Hughes, what's going on here?"

The barkeeper turned and replied.

"Bad news Naruto, the ladies had walked in and were about to grab something to drink and eat when they nudged some of those Knight apprentices, the guys took it personal and tried to pick a fight…and well….you know how it goes."

Naruto nodded at that and decided to get a bit closer, and his eyes narrowed when the knights took out their swords and so did the lady.

(Okay this is getting serious….)

((You want to get involved kit?))

(Only if I have to Kyuubi.)

It was then that the news of the City Watch coming in had broken the atmosphere as some men began to panic at the thought of being arrested, even they were mere spectators and some ran, one of them managed to push Naruto and he tried to right himself.

Unfortunately for Naruto, the man who had knocked him aside had also sent him in the direction of one of the women, namely the blonde haired Mylee Priestess and he hit her, with his face first between her breasts and his hands on her hips. When he looked up, he found himself looking at Melissa who was quite shocked by this sudden turn of events.

Naturally….Melissa's reaction was far from pleasant…

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Naruto backed away and tried to speak. As Melissa covered her breasts and glared at him, he knew that while it was an accident, women could read it the wrong way then he would be in trouble.

"Hey! That was an accident! I got hit by…."

Both Genie and Merrill were quite shocked at how blatantly that new arrival had just manhandled their comrade and in the most indecent way too.

"You disgusting pig…"

"You perverted idiot!"

Naruto looked at the two and replied with a slight glare.

"That was an accident! Someone knocked me over and I was caught off guard and lost my balance!"

Unfortunately the inner resident he had in his body was not making things easy.

((That might have been an accident, but you got to admit, that blonde Priestess is well stacked. Even that tanned red haired lady is as well…maybe you should try…))

(Are you out of your mind you crazy fox?! We are NOT going to do that!)

((Really now?))

(Yes, now shut it you darn perverted demon.)

((I'M A PERVERT?! Need I remind you of the time you had another one of those wet dreams of your involving your pink haired team-mate, the white eyed Hyuuga girl, and a few others? Now you even have that red haired fiend of yours plus that elf babe…))

(Shut up!)

The men there were shocked and some of the men who were going to fight genie were stunned and then they started speaking.

"Did you see that?"

"Of course I saw it….but wow, that's gutsy."

"Yeah, doing that to a Priestess of Mylee of all things, and in public too."

"That guy looks like a mage from the Guild…what's he doing here?"

Naruto had no idea how to get out of this one as the one with the sword looked at him, he knew that the only time he would fight back with this woman was when she would strike first, until then he would try to reason with them before he would fight. Naruto was not above fighting women, having fought with female ninja before when he was younger, and he was not impressed with the idea that men were better than women, that sort of talk was foolish in his mind. That was because he had grown up in a world where women were quite capable in a fight and he had seen female ninja do things that male ninja couldn't do.

Genie looked at the man before her and was ready to attack when he spoke.

"Look I said what I did was an accident…"

"Stop talking and get out of my sight….unless you actually have the guts to fight without magic."

Naruto glared and replied.

"I take it you don't plan on listening to reason then. Fine, try me, let's see if you can back up your words swordswoman."

Genie readied her sword and attacked….big mistake…

Naruto ducks the sword strike and then knees Genie in the gut and sends his fist to her chin and sends her flying back into the wall with a crash and the wall, he had also disarmed her of her sword and then caught it deftly by the handle and then tossed it to her and the blade landed on the wall blade first into the wall.

Melissa and Merrill gasped while the men were stunned.

"Did you see that? That guy just floored that woman without much effort!"

"I thought mages fought with magic."

Naruto sighed and replied to Genie who was out cold for a moment or two.

"You should let people explain their side first before trying to cut them down lady, you asked for that."

Merrill looked at Naruto and thought at what she had seen.

(Who is this guy? He might be a mage but I've never heard of a mage fighting with fists and feet before, but that guy knocked genie back.)

She got angry and attacked Naruto.

"You jerk!!!"

Naruto knew that the chance to resolve this was out the window and he had to defend himself.

Merrill launched a kick at him but Naruto quickly moves away and drops to the floor and then lashed out with a sweep kick and sends Merrill to the ground with a thump to her butt and she groaned as Naruto stood up once more.

The others then looked at that and replied.

"This guy is really different, there's no way he's an ordinary mage."

It was then that he was facing Melissa who was looking at him in a very angry way, it was to be expected as she had seen him manhandle her comrades.

"How dare you hit a woman?!"

Melissa moved and was about to slap Naruto but he was quick to respond and grabbed her had just as it was about to hit his face and he pulled her closer to her surprise and he replied simply.

"You're friend was about to cut me down before I could try and explain what happened was an accident Priestess, what was I supposed to do, let her cut me down for trying to defend myself? That is plain foolish and stupid, get your friends away from here, this fight is over."

Melissa gasped at that and it was then that the City Watch was coming, Naruto knew that now was not the time to be caught and with that, he released Melissa and quickly moved out of the building, leaving Melissa alone and genie recovering and rubbing her jaw and her stomach, and Merrill rubbing her butt to relieve the pain.

Naruto quickly got to roof of the buildings and headed for his home in Ohfun. He needed to relax and wait for the next day to meet Ila. This had become one of his most interesting nights and he wondered just what the three women were doing there, he could tell that they were an adventuring party and meant that they were looking for s new member and considering the fact they were all female, they wanted a female mage on their side.

He placed those thoughts aside for the moment and focused on other matters.

--------

Elsewhere…

Melissa and her comrades were resting in a hotel and the three women were not in the best of moods, Melissa had been able to clear things up with the City Watch Guards and the men who had attacked them were sent to prison, but the three had to rest and they drank their drinks in their room.

Genie placed down her mug and growled.

"When I see that blonde mage, I am going to lop his head off!"

Merrill nodded as she twirled her daggers.

"I'm going to make his butt look like a pin cushion for what he did to me!"

Melissa merely thought about what to do now, and she replied.

"At least we are in the clear; however, we still have to deal with the fact that we need a mage to help us get into the ruin."

Merrill then replied.

"I heard there's another pub that magicians from the Guild go to, we can got there and hire a mage."

The others agreed and then they went to sleep, and they were going to do their best to forget the incident with the unknown mage unless they were going to beat the tar out of him.

--------

The next day…

Ila drank her drink and enjoyed it for all it was worth as she wondered when her friend Naruto would arrive, he had sent her a letter that he was coming back to see how things were back in Ohfun as well as gather some more gear to go do some work. She hoped that he would stay longer when he did arrive, that way she could…

"Um, excuse me Miss?"

Ila turned and there were three women looking at her, one appeared to be a swordswoman, the other was a Priestess of Mylee, and the other appeared to be a thief of some sort.

"Yes? can I help you?"

Merrill was the one who spoke first.

"We were here to ask if you are a magician."

"I am, why, is there something you need from me?"

Melissa nodded and spoke.

"Yes, we would like to speak to you about some important. Is it all right if we sit down?"

"Sure."

Merrill, Melissa, and Genie sat down and Merrill spoke to Ila.

"We're a band of adventurers raiding ruins."

Ila was impressed and spoke with some measure of awe.

"Wow! Really?"

"I kid you not."

"That's so cool! I really am envious of you guys, I bet you have found lots of treasure and artifacts already!"

The three groaned, unwilling to admit that their adventures had not turned up a lot, and then Melissa spoke to Ila.

"There is something important that we liked to ask you miss about the whole adventure..."

"if you find any more artifacts, i would gladly buy them off you for a fair price."

genie shook her head and spoke.

"Actually we came her to ask you if you would like to join us for our adventures, we recently found a ruin and need to see if there is any treasure there, but we need a mage to help us open it."

Ila was surprised and gave a sad look.

"As much as I would love to go on an adventure with you all, I'm sorry to say that I can't leave my studies and I am only a novice so I won't be of much good for you to take to this ruin you found."

The three groaned once more and were deflated by the fact that they were not going to get Ila's support for their adventures. After their bad experiences, they were hoping for some more good luck.

Ila then had a thought and smiled at Genie, Melissa, and Merrill.

"I do know of someone who could help you, my friend Naruto Uzumaki, Naruto's a very skilled magic user and is Master Carwess' personally sponsored student in the Magic Guild. Master Carwess personally invited Naruto to enter the Guild because of Naruto's potential and talents and Naruto's been quite a student of magic ever since joining the Guild."

Both Genie and Melissa were impressed. For this Naruto to be handpicked by Carwess himself spoke highly of the lady's ability though the name she had was odd.

"Really, this Naruto was handpicked by master Carwess himself,? This Naruto must be a capable magician."

"Oh yes, Naruto loves to go on adventures and has been at it for months now and has even a battle name, the name is Hokage I think."

Merrill was confused at that and asked.

"Hokage….what does that mean?"

Ila thought it over and replied.

"Where Naruto is from I think it means 'Fire Shadow', Naruto is skilled in several high level combat spells and has some of special spells in reserve for special occasions, Naruto's also skilled with a sword and has been adventuring for some time now, Naruto's going to meet me here so you can probably get Naruto to help you unlock this ruin you found."

Melissa and the others smiled at that, from what they had heard from Ila, this Naruto would prove to be a very helpful addition to their all female team.

"Great! This Naruto sounds just like the one we need to complete our team!"

Genie nodded and spoke.

"So when do we meet her?"

Melissa also nodded.

"Yes, this woman friend of your sounds like very much like a blessing from Mylee himself."

Ila was surprised at that, they thought Naruto was a woman, it was then that she heard a familiar exuberant and high energy voice.

"Hey Ila! Great to see you again!"

Ila turned and she replied with a happy smile.

"Naruto!!!"

The three women blanched as they heard that voice, the voice of a certain someone they had no desire to ever meet again. They thought that they heard wrong but when they looked, they spotted a certain blonde Chuunin from Konoha who wore orange and black, had a forehead protector on his head with the symbol of Konoha on it, a red long coat with black flames and a massive scroll on his back along with a set of pouches on his back and left thigh and his katana as well.

The three of them stood up and both Genie and Merrill shouted while Melissa looked at Naruto with shocked eyes.

"YOU!!!!"

Naruto gave a look in their direction and gave a slight look of surprise and mixed with wariness.

"You three again?"

------

To be continued…

------

Author's notes:

NOT exactly the prestigious of meetings wasn't it for Naruto and Melissa's group wasn't it? I actually borrowed the meeting of the three ladies with Naruto from the manga which would add my own spice to the story for a change, that and the fact that Ila is a bit more open about her feelings towards Naruto will be the only references to the manga itself while the rest follows the anime. I hope that this was good enough for the readers to look at.

Now some readers have brought it up that this resembles Rune Soldier Ranma, I would like to point out that while some things might be somewhat similar, I do like to point out some things about this story that will prove that it's no copy.

The first is that the lead character who is taking Louie's place is Naruto, just like in the case that Ranma takes over Louie's place in Hung's work. The difference is that Naruto is not a child like Ranma was in his own story, and is already a teenager and his experiences are quite different from Ranma so he will see the world and people on a different manner.

Not to mention he does have Jiraiya's perverted tendencies and is a bit perverted himself, and that fact will make itself known even more as time progresses. (Sly smile.)

Second is that Naruto is not planning to remain long in the Rune Soldier Louie world, but he plans head home to fulfill his dream of being a Hokage, but while he is there in the Rune Soldier Louie world, you can bet he will leave behind a reputation, unlike Ranma who wants nothing to do with his own world as there were too many things that he dislikes there and decides to remain there in the Rune Soldier Louie world forever.

Third is that Naruto's already present talents are there for him to use, unlike Ranma who has to learn all his techniques from scratch. This gives Naruto the advantage he needs, though he is not above learning new things to help him improve while he is there in the Rune Soldier Louie world.

Fourth is that due to his life, Naruto will be quite a bag of surprises for the gang of Melissa, Merrill, and Genie, and since he is different from Ranma, he will show things differently. Keep in mind also that the experiences Naruto had with women is quite different from Ranma so he might surprise Melissa and company.

That's about it…

--------

I previously had a bad experience with being considered a blatant copier of Hung's work a few years back when I first started out in writing fanfiction, and I don't deny it, I was younger and more foolish back then after all. I wished up since then and branched out on my own, though I do admit I was inspired by Hung's works to take up the pen so to speak.

If things follow too closely to either the anime or Hung's work, feel free to tell me and I'll make the corrections, I did do my best after that incident so I hope to prove that I am my own man and I don't copy things too closely anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

Rune Soldier Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Naruto or Rune Solider Louie, they belong to their respective creators. Masashi Kishimoto and Ryo Mizuno.

Chapter 2

Unfriendly Reunion

( ): Thoughts/Conversation with the Kyuubi

(( )): Kyuubi's voice

--------

In the bar…

Genie and Merrill were quick to grab their weapons and both of them were more than ready to fight Naruto who was remaining calm, the other mages in the bar were quick to take notice of the situation and they were quick to get away, many of them were former classmates of the blonde Shinobi/mage of Konoha and they had a feeling that whoever these people were, things were going to get very ugly in the next few minutes.

Ila looked rather surprised by all this and seeing that Melissa and company were eying Naruto as if he was a target they wanted to beat into submission, she made a very accurate guess.

"I take it you've met them before Naruto?"

"Oh yeah, and not in the best of circumstances…"

Merrill spoke first.

"You perverted goat! Don't think we've forgotten how you touched Melissa in public!!!"

Naruto slapped his forehead and glared at Merrill.

"I said it before and I'll say it again, what happened before was a damn accident!"

Genie growled once more and began to draw out her sword, that was enough to get things even more distressful and then Melissa spoke to the others.

"Genie, Merrill, let's settle this without incident all right? I don't think a stand off with the City Watch is a good idea tonight."

Both of the two members of Melissa's group began to relax a bit and both were still glaring at Naruto and Ila then turned to Naruto and spoke to her long time friend, while Naruto was something of a mystery to her at times, she knew for a fact that her friend was not the kind of person to just grab someone intentionally though she made sure not to say that she wanted him to do that to her..

"Naruto, they were asking to hire mage to help them with a ruin that appears to be sealed by magic, so I suggested that they…"

"No way are we letting some pervert join our group!"

Merrill snarled and genie glared and Melissa spoke with a slightly hard look at Naruto.

"I'm sorry Miss, but I am afraid that your friend Naruto can't be part of our group due to his actions the night before when he first came to our attention."

Ila wondered just why they were hostile towards Naruto and decided to figure it out at a much later date. However she decided to stand up for her friend, long after he had left, she had gathered a greater deal of self confidence in herself as she had learned a lot from being with her friend in the Guild.

"I don't know how this all happened, but I have to stress out that Naruto is the only magician who can be able to help you, while there are already graduate, many of them have not been in adventures as Naruto has and Naruto is the most seasoned one when it comes to being out of the Guild."

The three looked Naruto over and Melissa decided to think it all over at a much better time, however Genie and Merrill were not having any of it and they were still recalling how Naruto had defeated the two of them when they first met, Genie's thoughts on how he had knocked her out still made her angry, while Merrill was itching for a chance to pay Naruto back for knocking to her butt the last night.

Naruto however was calmer than the others, all he had been through had taught him to at least have a good level of self control and he relaxed himself once more and spoke directly to Melissa.

"I made it quite clear last night that I had no ill will towards you when that happened, and that it was an accident, do I look like the kind of guy to go wandering about groping a woman at random?"

Naruto was correct about that, after knowing that Hinata loved him and she was alive and safe after he had gone ballistic when she had been wounded by Pain, he had been more open with her and eventually the two of them had gotten very close, and Sakura was very supportive of it and eventually the two Kunoichi had been very important to him, which was why despite being tempted by other attractive women, especially Ila, he did his best to resist the urge to do something untoward her despite his male side egging him on to do it already and the perverted Kyuubi was not helping matters either.

Melissa thought it over and replied.

"Very well, however I must still stress that I cannot have you as a member of this party at the moment, we'll find another way to open the sealed doors."

Naruto quickly expressed some interest at the mention of sealed doors and turned to Ila.

"Sealed door huh? Was there any tell tale signs of who left the seal on it?"

"Well, they haven't given me any details on what sort of door they were talking about."

Naruto then turned to the three and asked them a question.

"What were the markings on the door? Any particular symbol on the doors that you can tell me?"

The three looked at one another and Melissa spoke for the others.

"I am afraid not, the door is covered a large stone slab that restricted us to see just what sort of symbols the door had."

Naruto gave a sigh and thought it over.

While Naruto was interested in money like most people and he actually was very good in keeping money as well as getting it, he was not in it just for the wealth, he needed the money to locate the magical artifacts that he needed to find a way home back to Konoha, the money would help in a great deal in getting all the information he needed such as buying maps, paying sources and doing the usual 'greasing the wheels of commerce' as the Pervy Sage used to put it in.

Besides that, he had already found a few ways to get money when he was not adventuring and visiting ruins and gathering treasure, and those was very lucrative and it attracted the right kind of attention and not the wrong kind, he could have hired off his services as a ninja for espionage and assassination as he had gotten somewhat accustomed to those aspects of being a ninja, but chose not to, it would have been asking for trouble if they found out that he was from Ohfun, that could have resulted in some serious problems or even wars.

After hearing Pain's side of the story when he attacked Konoha, he was not in the mood to have wars happen on his world, it was hard task to find peace, but he would find it, as both Jiraiya and his father The Fourth Hokage believed in him, and he was NOT going to be the instigator of a war here on this world. Wars had a way of creating monsters, and not the mystical kind, Pain was a good example of man turning into a monster because of war and the hatred it breeds in the end of it. That was why when the option of taking up the role of an assassin came up, he refused it outright. There WERE guys in this world he would love to get rid of, but he knew doing that was asking for trouble.

And since the week was getting a bit dull, some excitement was in order and considering the fact that this was a chance to find more things that could help him get home or at least see home, he was more than willing to go at it, besides, he more than enough money for the next few months so this adventure would prove a good distraction until he got a chance to check out the Guild's archives for some more information.

"All right, here's a deal, if you let me take a look at the door and let me find a way to open the sealed door, then whatever ordinary treasure you can find , keep it, the only thing I want is to have any magical items or objects there that I can use."

Merrill looked at Naruto with some level of confusion, she had a feeling that there was something odd about his request for them to give him any magical items. Most mages would have wanted treasure but this guy wanted none of that and only wanted the magical artifact? Something was not right about that, and she decided to think that idea over.

Melissa then spoke.

"You…do know how to open the sealed door?"

"Let me take a look at what sort of magical seal that door's got and I'll see to opening it up."

Genie was not entirely convinced and decided to dig up as much as she could on this Naruto that could prove to be helpful in figuring out if he was a good mage or not.

Melissa wished that there was more to go on, but seeing as they had no other options at the moment, she decided to chance it for the time being, it would still be a number of days before she had to meet up with Jenny for an important announcement. She knew that her group needed the money badly, Genie needed to pay off the tax collectors, and so did Merrill and that was something that they all had to work on.

"All right then, we'll meet you a few days from now."

As the three left, the atmosphere seemed to calm down and then Ila turned to Naruto and asked.

"What exactly happened between you and the three of them to be so hostile to you?"

Naruto gave a sigh and told Ila the whole thing and by the end of it, Ila had to admit that she could see why the three were not very happy with the idea of him coming along, but she was not very happy with the way the others looked at him, in all the time she known the blonde shinobi/mage he was not the kind to just pick fights unless he was attacked first.

"Well, I can understand their reactions, but you did say it was an accident and you were defending yourself."

"I know, I could have said no to the whole thing and walked off, but when I got insulted, well, things kind of go a different way. Besides, it's going to be all right since some exercise is in order and I have a feeling this just might be what I need to get some fun. Besides, I have been meaning to brush up on some techniques and spells anyway and this is good practice before I hit the books in the Guild again. I've been busy keeping to looking for answers to some questions that I think I've gotten rusty, so some good exercise is in order."

Ila didn't suppress the smile on her face, while she could never understand why he always preferred to be outside of the classroom, she couldn't deny the results, he might not have graduated from the Guild officially but in her mind, Naruto's uncanny abilities were more than adequate plus she knew that his other abilities were more than adequate in a fight, after all she had seen them first hand.

Naruto himself was not kidding about his ability to open the sealed door that Melissa and company had to deal with, having been familiar with the rune language due to his use of Kage Bushin when in the libraries in the Guild, he had gained a good degree of understanding of magic as well as one how to deal with sealed doors, there were elemental binding spells that he had heard of, along with locking spells. He might not know all of the forms of magic, but he was ever practical now that he was older, he still kept a number of reserve techniques and abilities, as well as spells in combat. He still had his Sexy No Jutsu and truth be told, he had not gotten rid of it, still using on more than one occasion, and it could be helpful as well.

As the two of them relaxed a bit more, the blonde shinobi/mage had a feeling that things were going to be interesting soon enough.

--------

In a hut outside of Ohfun…

Melissa and the others were having a discussion on their latest situation with a certain blonde shinobi/mage.

"I can't believe we have to be saddled with him! Are you sure about what you are doing Melissa?"

Melissa sighed and replied.

"It's not like we have much choice, Master Carwess is not going to let his students leave their studies behind and considering that Miss Ila's words appear to be correct, we have no choice in the matter, what about you Genie? What do you think?"

"I don't think it's a good idea to have that lout with us honestly, I checked it out and it seems he's something of a truant and trouble maker in the school, he's never officially graduated from the Guild, so I have a good deal of doubt on his abilities, though it's said he performs very well enough to not be expelled as well as have good grades."

Melissa placed some thought into that and recalled that Ila said that Naruto was personally handpicked by Carwess and the fact that the head Mage of the Magic Guild had sponsored Naruto himself was still there in her mind, so there must be truth to Ila's statements about Naruto being very talented.

"I guess you have a point, still, Miss Ila was not lying as far as I can sense about his abilities as a mage so it does raise the question about how he can be a truant and still be handpicked by Master Carwess himself, as I understand it, getting handpicked by Carwess is considered a very rare honor, so he must have a degree of talent."

Genie couldn't dispute that and then Ila had an idea.

"Why don't we test him when we go out to the ruins then? That way we can see if he's got the magic to back up his words."

The others looked at Merrill and she outlined her plans and when the young thief was done, Genie and Melissa thought about it even more and then Genie replied.

"Are you sure about that Merrill? You realize that we're already low on funds as it is?"

"I know, but this is a good way to see if this guy is as good as his friend says, plus if he proves to be a liability, we can just dump him and find a better mage to help us if we ever go on other adventures later on while we're here."

"Still, this plan is going to be expensive and we're going to need a lot of our savings."

Melissa then recalled something important.

"By the way, I hope to plan to take the day off for now since the Ritual of Revealing is coming up tomorrow."

"What?"

"The Ritual of Revealing, it's one of the most revered rituals in the Church of Mylee, we spend some time in the presence of Mylee and then the War God will reveal to us who is the Valiant Champion we shall serve to better his name."

"I've heard that it's very serious."

"Oh yes, I plan to pray to Mylee for a valiant, brave, gentlemanly champion who might prove to be a lot better than all the others."

Merrill recognized the sight before her and groaned.

"Oh no, not this again."

Genie nodded and while Melissa was in lala land in her dreams of meeting her valiant champion, they talked about this particular quirk that Melissa had, she was their friend and a good priestess of Mylee and was a great healer as well, but due to the fact that she was very naïve and also dreamed a lot, she had this desire to find the perfect man and both Genie and Merrill know that there was no such thing as a perfect man from previous experience, but they could never convince Melissa of that and as much as they disliked it, they did nothing to change that.

However, if Melissa did get the right hero to help them in the rest of their adventures, then all the better as they could get someone to complete their group and if they got lucky and found a female mage, then all the better for them all.

--------

In the Guild dormitory…

Naruto was currently in his room and was busy running his hands on his set of kunai and was busy thinking about what he was agreeing to for the next few days, this new adventure might be the thing to get rid of the boredom, and give him some time to think on the next journey to find a way back to Konoha, he had no doubts in his mind that his friends and family were worried sick ever since he had disappeared and landed into this world. Hinata was worried no doubt and so was Sakura, along with his other friends and allies…That was why he was willing to go on this adventure, to get one step closer to finding the chance to get home. Of course it would take time and he would have to tell Ila at some point.

(How the heck am I going to tell her that I have to leave and never come back? She'd be heartbroken if I leave…)

((Take her with us then Kit.))

(What?! Are you out of your mind you perverted fox?! I will not kidnap Ila from her own world!! Her parents would kill me!)

((Come on kit, think of it this way, once you find out how to create the portal, you can take with you and send her back whenever you like.))

(You crazy fox, you have any idea what kind of trouble you are asking for?! Ila's no ninja….)

((Then you can train her, think about it, with her brains and her magical knowledge, she'd make a good ninja in only a few years time, not to mention the fact that's….well, you know what I mean by that.))

(You pervert….)

((Oh right, and you're not guilty of having fantasies of her?))

(You've been peeking into my dreams again?!)

((I don't need to peek kit, you radiate them so much I've have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to feel and see them, thankfully I am neither of the three and I am happy for it, at least there's something to view when not in combat.))

(You know….you've been doing this to me ever since we got here, can't you find anything else to busy your time?!)

((Like what?! There's no one here in this world worthy of me even giving you my chakra kit, this world is so boring I'd even gladly welcome all the formerly dead and rotting members of Akatsuki to come back to life and cause some discord here so we can some DECENT enemies to fight!!! The two dunderheads Garret and his brother Hayden are so pathetic they made even a rookie Genin team look interesting, fighting those two pests is like watching snow fall on the ground!!! I want a REAL LIFE OR DEATH FIGHT!!!! AND I WANT IT SOON BEFORE I DIE OF BOREDOM!!!))

Naruto was quite surprised at the words that erupted from his resident that he was unaware that Ila was in his room and she was looking at him with considerable scrutiny and she decided to shake him a bit.

"Naruto? Are you…..eeeep!"

Ila gulped as Naruto reflexively grabbed her arm and threw her to the bed and was now on top of her, poised to strike, relying on his battle trained reflexes, so absorbed was he with the his discussion with the Kyuubi that he didn't register her presence. It was only after a second or three that he recognized the fact that he was on top of Ila, in only his shirt and pants minus his sandals and she was in her dress with her breasts touching his chest and her pressing on her slender, feminine and supple form.

"Naruto…."

Ila was not expecting this to happen at this moment, part of her rational mind told her to knock him off and free herself and stop him from going any further, but her deep feelings towards Naruto were telling her not to fight it, it felt nice to feel him on top of her and in such a very compromising and suggestive position as well.

Naruto quickly realized what was going on and got off and spoke to Ila in a very shocked tone of voice.

"I'm sorry! I was distracted and reacted reflexively Ila!"

Ila sighed and spoke to Naruto.

"It's all right Naruto, I guess I should have tried to get your attention in a different way, you were so deep in thought I thought you were having a hard time again with something that you needed to catch up on."

Naruto chuckled and scratched the back of his head and replied.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about some things, namely that journey I am going on in the company of those females, the only one I recognize by their clothes at first was the Priestess of Mylee, I am kind of curious as to why I've never met her before. I am planning to drop by Miss Jenny's place and say hi and maybe even ask her if she knows this Melissa."

"You want to know more about this woman you're working with?"

"I guess Ila, since she's a Priestess of Mylee, Jenny would know more about her, better I get all the details of who I'm working with or else I might get lost in the dark on who my partners are, isn't the first time that happened to me."

That was true indeed, when Sai was in their team their meeting wasn't on very good terms either. There was no doubt that Genie and Merrill were not going to be happy working with him considering how they met the first time and if they met again, there was a chance that the two would attack him the moment they got a chance.

He however placed that aside and planned to meet up with Jenny the following day at night.

--------

In the temple of Mylee…

In the main meeting hall, Melissa had just finished with her speech about heroes and the duties of the Priestesses to their chosen champions and when they would meet again, she would tell them what it means to be a hero. As she finished, she met a trio of younger Priestesses. The three were Ann, Gannet, and Joan, the three of them were very much happy that she was going to be taking her Ritual and they wished her the best as she was giddy at the prospect of finding her Champion.

Meanwhile, back in Genie's home, the muscular woman was training with her sword and after she was done, she was greeted by Merrill who was working as an apple gatherer at one of her part time jobs. The two had a discussion on Naruto and the young thief spoke.

"You know, I wonder if this guy we're hiring can really be a good mage."

"I doubt it, he hasn't even graduated yet from the Guild and he certainly is no hit with the students, I heard a number of them got on his bad side more than once."

"True, but at least he's no wimp, I still think we should make him pay for what he did to us and we can see if he can actually fight without any trouble."

"Right, by the way Merrill, any word from Melissa yet?"

"No, she should be undergoing to ritual right now, say, why don't we go and pay her a visit? I managed to get enough money to buy the supplies we need so we're good to go soon enough."

"Right, I just hope that Mylee gives us someone we can count on."

Later…

Naruto was on his way to the temple and wondered if the time was right for him, he knew that Jeny was working with one of her favored disciples at the moment, and while it was still only mid afternoon, he had a feeling that things would get interesting, it was when he arrived at the door that he knocked.

The slit of the door opened and someone spoke to him.

"Yes? What are you doing here?"

"Hello, I am looking for Head Priestess Jenny, is she around?"

"No, I'm afraid that Head Priestess Jenny is currently overseeing the Ritual of Revealing to Priestess Melissa at the moment."

That got Naruto's attention right off the bat, so the one he wanted to talk to was here as well and undergoing to the ritual no less, he had heard of the ritual of course while training under Jenny in the art of sword play and what he recalled back in his younger days back in his world though he never took up the sword then.

"I see….well, can I see her and Melissa later? I have some business to discuss with both of them."

"No, sorry, this is not the time."

With that the slot closed and Naruto shook his head and wondered how long it will be before he could see Jenny, it was then however that his honed shinobi instincts told him that company was right behind him and he turned to see none other than Genie and Merrill.

"You two? Let me guess, you both are here to see your friend Melissa right?"

Genie nodded and replied.

"That's right and I take it you're here for a reason?"

"That I am…."

"Maybe to spy on Melissa and the other Priestesses as well you pervert?"

Naruto looked at Merrill with incredulous eyes, sure he was a bit of a pervert in real life, but he was nowhere near the level of his godfather Jiraiya and he was not in the mood to be told that he was a pervert since he was here on other matters.

"How many times do Ii have to say it? What happened two nights ago was an accident?!"

Merrill snorted a bit and Genie replied.

"Accident or not, you embarrassed Melissa with what happened and of course I have every intention of paying you back for your attacks on me back at that tavern."

The swordswoman took out her sword and then stopped when she saw the katana on Naruto's back, he had left behind his wand and his Toad Summoning contract scroll back in his room, under Ila's stewardship at the moment. It was then that Genie decided to see if this mage was good with a sword, she wanted to see how this mage can fight without the wand.

"You're carrying a sword huh? Why don't we find out how good you are with it?"

Naruto did not like this and while he knew Mylee was a God of War he doubted anyone found it tasteful for a fight to break out in front of a temple of all things.

"Hey, I didn't come here looking for a fight, I came here to speak to the Head Priestess."

Genie however was focused on testing Naruto as well as paying him back for the injuries that he had given her and now was a good a time as any.

"Let's deal with the now, you owe me a chance to pay you back for those attacks you gave me two nights before, and if there is one thing I dislike it's unpaid debts, I want to be able to pay you back, every time I recall the night you and I fought, my jaw aches a bit and that is annoying."

"If I were to recall, I was trying to avoid a fight, but you wanted one, and I take it you want one now?"

"Less talking mage, either fight and draw your sword or leave before I get angry."

Naruto could tell that this was getting out of hand and it wasn't helping matters when Merrill also made her move and got her daggers ready. Naruto quickly decided to sneak into the temple and avoid a confrontation with these two and here in front of the temple of Mylee no less, he was not in the mood for a fight and quickly took out some of his left over flash bomb pellets. And it was a good move as both Genie and Merrill moved closer, and were about to attack him, this told Naruto that the kid gloves were off, it was time to get serious!

Genie and Merrill were blinded by the sound of the pellet going off and Naruto quickly moved out of the way but not before using a spare summoning scroll to summon a large amount of cable and quickly wrapped it around the two and restrained them and quickly moved out of the way. Genie and Merrill recovered from the flash and thought the mage had used a light spell to blind them and then tied them up.

The swordswoman glared at this and managed to reach for her sword and lifted it up and began to cut the cable while Merrill did the same, the rope was very strong and it took a while for them to cut the first few strands and they shouted.

"WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU!!!"

Naruto quickly moved away from the area and was soon on top of the temple and recalled that he would have to be cautions here, the Temple did undergo maintenance every month as much as he recalled in the activities of the Priestesses, but still, loose tiles and stuff were about. He then quickly flipped out of the way when Merrill fired her daggers at him and he fired back with a kunai of his own.

Merrill ducked barely being hit by the kunai, she had not expected the mage to be THAT agile, that was enough for Naruto to quickly throw another kunai at her and that was enough to force her back, unaware of the fact that she was near the edge and fell back, grabbing the edge in time, Naruto knew she would be fine, thieves were nimble ones. But if she was free, then that meant…

"NOW I GOT YOU!!!"

Naruto rolled out of the way as he turned and then charged and lashed out with an elbow and jammed it into Genie's stomach and that forced her back and he followed through with a quick push to force her back and he spoke.

"Now cool off lady!"

Genie glared at that and Merrill got ready to fight as she got up, and the young thief was very irate.

"First you make me fall flat on my rear, and then you tried to make me fall off the roof of this temple?! You are so dead buddy, scratch having you on the trip to the ruins, I'll deal with you now!!!"

"I agree, you stand still and take your deserved beating."

"You two think I'm just going to let the two of you hit me, out of the question, the very second you came to attack me, the kid gloves are off. You want a fight, then bring it!"

The two got ready for a fight and so was Naruto, he might not have started this fight, but he was going to finish it one way or the other, as much as he was not in the mood to start a fight on top of the Temple of Mylee, he had no choice but to fight here and now.

Both Genie and Merrill attacked and Merrill fired her daggers, but Naruto quickly leaped over them and quickly borrowed a move from Lee.

"LEAF HURRICANE!!!"

Naruto lashed out with a spinning kick that surprised Merrill as she was barely able to block and was sent back and then genie took over and Naruto quickly grabbed a roof tile and slapped the sword away. And then as Genie raised her sword, he kicked the flat of the blade, forcing Genie to lose her balance and that allowed him to land a knee to her stomach to force her back..

(Man….for a mage that kick of his packs a heck of a hit…)

Merrill said as she shook her hands to get rid of the shaking feeling after being hit by that kick of Naruto's and she got up and fired several daggers, aiming for Naruto's backside, but Naruto spotted that and quickly used the replacement Jutsu, the same one Kakashi used on him back when they first met and he used Kage Bushin to attack his now deceased Jonin sensei.

Needless to say a shout was heard.

"OOOOOUUUUCCCCCHHHHH!!!"

Genie turned and pulled the daggers that had struck her right in the body which she used to sit down on and she glared at her partner.

"WATCH WHERE YOU THROW THOSE MERRILL!!"

"Sorry!!!"

Merrill was flabbergasted at this as where Naruto had been was now where Genie was.

(How the heck did he do that?!)

Genie growled and ignored the pain on her back side and focused on Naruto and Naruto was about to get ready for another battle and quickly dodged the attack and Merrill moved in with her daggers at the ready as well as her knives to attack Naruto as he got up.

Genie then used the flat of her sword to slam into Naruto, but Naruto saw through that and quickly made the same move as before….only this time with a different victim.

WHACK!!!"

"OOOOOWWWWW!!!"

Merrill screamed as she dropped her daggers and rubbed her own backside as she just got slapped hard by the flat of Genie's sword while Naruto was grinning like a happy monkey on the other side of the roof, he pulled the same Jutsu again only this time it was Merrill who got replaced.

The thief was shouting in pain and turned to genie who was shocked by that as well as she was.

"WHY THE HECK DID YOU HIT ME?!"

"Sorry about that…"

"Look you two, we can keep this up all night and you still won't get me, why don't you two stop this and give it up before hurt yourselves even more?'

Both glared and replied.

"NEVER!!!!"

Naruto got ready and moved back, only to hear something that he didn't like….apparently there was some weakened and cracking stone there due to the weather as well as the usual wear and tear, as well as the recent fighting on the roof between him and Melissa's friends and since it couldn't hold for long, he was very sure that he was going to…

(Great! Just my luck….this is going to hurt.)

CRASH!!!!

--------

In the private chamber…

"Is it human?"

Melissa looked at the water before her where the massive splash had been, she had been in the water in the nude when the ceremony began and was officiated by Jenny and two attendants. She had just been told by Mylee in a sending that the next person she saw would be her champion, though she was happy, it confused her as Head Priestess Jenny was going to be the first person she would see after this, that was when the stone roof cracked and fell down.

Amazingly enough, she had been unharmed but then heard a shout and then saw something fall in the water before her, Melissa moved forward, and then the water moved up to reveal a blonde head, wearing a red robe with some strange symbol on the back and then there were black sleeves and then she heard the voice.

"Damn! I think Miss Jenny is going to need to have the roof repaired!"

(No! It's can't be!!)

Melissa was shocked and prayed for it to be a dream, but she was wrong as she found herself staring at Naruto who looked and he also blushed as he realized that he was looking at none other than Melissa….in the nude…

"Uhhhh…This is not what you think…"

Melissa's answer?

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! PERVERT!!!!!!"

WHACK!!!!

--------

In Jenny's private chambers…

"Well now, this was unexpected…"

Jenny said as she looked at the two before her at the moment. Naruto had a slap mark on his face while Melissa was wearing her garb and giving Naruto a very dirty look. The young Priestess then spoke to Jenny.

"Miss Jenny! I must insist that this is against my will!"

Naruto glared at Melissa and replied.

"You think I wanted this to happen?!"

Melissa turned and spoke with a fierce blush on her face and replied.

"You were enjoying it weren't you?!"

"I'd be an idiot to say I didn't enjoy it you know."

"YOU….YOU….PERVERTED MALE!!!"

Naruto glared.

"Well excuse me for being human!"

Jenny looked at the two of them and couldn't help but feel a bit of humor in her mind. The two were going at it like she and Carwess did when they were younger and naïve as well when they started out as adventurers, this felt very interesting and since Mylee had done this deed of revealing to Melissa, Naruto was her champion, but she knew that she needed to talk to Naruto about this matter.

"Melissa, I need to speak to Naruto for the time being, please leave the room."

Melissa relaxed as best as she could manage and left the room and then as soon as she was gone, Jenny made a move to her war hammer and chanted a spell.

Naruto looked at Jenny and knew that there was something she wanted from him. Otherwise she would have never placed the Privacy spell on the room he was currently occupying with her at the moment.

"All right Miss Jenny what exactly is it that you want from me?"

"I want you to accept the need to be Melissa's champion."

Naruto gave a shocked look at Jenny and replied.

"You want me to be her Champion? No offense meant or anything, but I have a greater degree of priorities than baby sit her of all things, besides she's got her allies."

"I am well aware of that, but there is a reason as to why I want you to be her Champion Naruto as well as the fact that Mylee has decreed it, you have a number of traits that I think will rub off well and influence Melissa for the better."

"Really now? What sort of traits are you referring to Miss Jenny?"

"You have the desire to succeed which I know has seen you through many trials in your own world and all you have experienced have no doubt taught you much about the outside world as well. You have also shown the willingness to learn and accept things, I recall the time you told me about your life being…"

"A Jinchuuriki right?"

"Yes, you have endured something that I doubt anyone in the Church of Mylee has ever endured and instead of denying it or giving into despair, you have learned work with it and overcome all the hardship, and look at you now, you have grown into a fine young man and a skilled fighter as well as mage, I doubt that I could pull through if I had to lead the life you had."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short Miss Jenny…you are a strong woman, heck you'd make a great Medic Nin back in my world."

Jenny smiled at that and replied.

"Regardless, you have something that I believe Melissa needs, and that is the ability to understand one another. Now don't get me wrong about Melissa, she is the brightest of my students here in the Church of Mylee, a skilled healer in her own right and a good priestess, but she has flaws."

"Who in the world doesn't have them?"

"Correct, the flaws she has is she is too set in her ways of seeing things in a narrow mindset, while there is no doubt about the existence of good and evil in the world, not everything is as simple or as clear cut as you might think, you know this very well Naruto, considering all you have been through, but Melissa doesn't. She grew up reading story books and fairy tales and believes that those are real, you have to prove to her that those are just stories and are not real, she has to live in the real world and see both the beauty and the ugliness of it. You need to be there to show her how to not just understand it, but to deal with it in the way befitting a Priestess of Mylee and also how to grow stronger for it. And I can think of no better teacher than you."

Naruto could tell that Jenny meant every word she said and there was no denying the fact that it was the truth, still it was something he was not agreeing to, he was trying to find a way home and not be a baby sitter, but then he thought about it even more and then recalled many of the people who he knew long ago, people who meant a lot in his life and were good people….though they were never that way when he first met them. It a way that surprised him, he was doing the things he had done before and that was to teach others, he was starting to feel just how it was like when Kakashi used to teach him.

He looked at Jenny and replied.

"Are you sure you want me to do this, you know that I am not exactly from your world and I don't know how Melissa will react if she finds out about….well, you know what I mean by that."

Jenny nodded at that, she had been shocked to know what a ninja was in Naruto's world and to think that there were others just like him who were ninjas as well. But she had faith in her young student's abilities and the fact that he was not an evil being despite the fact that such an evil being resided inside of him.

"I know that Naruto, Melissa will be shocked and worse, but she has to learn either way that heroes are not the kind found in her story books and in her dreams, heroes are people who are brought in to do things because it is the right thing to do. You have done many things that I know to be truly worthy of praise and I have no doubt you will do well here also."

"All you sure about all this?"

"Yes, will you do this for me and for Melissa's sake before you return to your world?"

Naruto thought it over and figured why not, at least this was going to be interesting.

"All right, I might not think this is a good idea, but I'll do as you ask."

"Good, and make sure to teach Melissa about the truth of the world, but do it well and make sure that you do it in a way that she can accept."

Naruto shook his head and spoke to Jenny.

"All right, I am not sure why I got picked for this and I still think it's a bad idea, but I'll do it."

"All right, now then….tell me everything that has happened between you and Melissa, I have a feeling since she speaks to you in such a way, you have met her before."

"You don't know the half of it.".

--------

Outisde…

Melissa was pacing back and forth while wringing her hands and saying to herself.

(THIS IS AGINST MY WILL!!! THIS IS AGAINST MY WILL!!!!)

Naruto then walked out of the room and spoke to her.

"Hey Melissa! Miss Jenny wants a word with you…by the way it looks like you are going to be stuck with me for a while."

Naruto then decided to tease Melissa by giving her a very strong smile and that made Melissa shiver a bit as he walked away.

As Melissa walked in, she spoke to her superior in the Church.

"Missy Jenny, this is against my will! I can't have him as my champion!"

"Oh? Why do you say that Melissa?"

"Because he is unprincipled, ill mannered, and more, he struck one of my friends twice even if Genie was a woman! And he….did something perverted to me before what happened in the sacred area! No gentleman should ever do that to a woman in public!"

Jenny however was well aware of what Melissa was talking about, Naruto had filled her in on the details of his first meeting with Melissa and her friends Genie and Merrill and explained that it was an accident and while he admitted that he did like it to a point, he was not the kind of person to do that to a woman at random and he had tried to reason with them before he was forced to fight to defend himself against Genie's attack as well as Merrill's kick. Jenny knew that while it is considered proper manners not to hit a woman, she kept in mind that Naruto was from a world where that was not something men listened to and there were female ninja after all, many of them were even more deadly than the men as well. Thus Naruto is not above hitting a woman in combat to defend himself and considering his life and the dangers in his world, she couldn't fault Naruto for it.

"I see….however you have to follow the rules of our Church Melissa, Mylee did state that the next person you will see shall be your champion and the first person whom you saw was Naruto….personally, I think he is a good choice despite what most would think."

"You KNOW him?!"

"Yes, he and I have known each other since he started being a student in the Guild under Carwess' personal sponsorship, and he is a gifted mage, despite what others may say, plus…let's just say he is full of surprises."

"But still….he doesn't exactly strike me as a worthy champion Miss Jenny! And he smiled at me in a very ungentlemanly manner!"

"True, but I recall an old saying in my youth when I first started adventuring with Carwess when we were your age and Naruto's, it was….'Do not judge a book by its cover' I am very sure you are familiar with the saying after all. Naruto is a very interesting young man with considerable talents, otherwise Carwess would have never allowed him to be in the Guild. Not to mention other traits and secrets."

"Secrets?"

"Yes Melissa, you have to learn more about Naruto to truly understand WHY he is your champion, and you have to do what you can to learn all that you can about him, even sleep with him if it comes to that."

That was meant as a joke and a figure of speech….but that was more than enough to make Melissa turn as white as her own robes.

(S-S-S-SLEEP WITH HIM?!?! I MUST EVEN BE IN BED WITH THAT MAN?!?!?!!?!?! PRIESTESS JENNY HAS LOST HER MIND!!!)

Jenny could tell that Melissa was having very unhealthy thoughts and replied.

"That was a figure of speech Melissa, calm down, anyway, it still stands, he is your champion and you must serve him to the best of your abilities. Do you understand me Melissa?"

Melissa recovered and nodded despite her wish this was not the case.

"Yes Priestess Jenny."

As she left she tried to remain calm, though in truth, her mind was in a mess.

(THIS IS AGAINST MY WILL!!!!!)

--------

In the Guild dorm…

Naruto slapped his forehead as he walked back into his room and sat down on his bed, he had no idea how he got into this mess and why the God had him targeted for this job, but he had given his word and as a future Hokage, he had to keep his promise to someone.

He however had no doubt that Melissa was throwing a hissy fit with her friends in two, as much as he was not looking forward to this as he had other priorities, he had no choice at the moment and had to deal with it.

--------

The next day…

Genie and Merrill were not happy with the news they got from Melissa, not only was Naruto going to be Melissa's hero, but they were now stuck with him for the rest of their lives. The two had spent the early part of the morning listening to Melissa bemoan the fact she had the arrogant blonde mage as a hero, this was something they had not expected, they had hoped to get the mage to open the ruins and then get the treasure and then leave him to continue after giving him his part as they did make a deal on the matter. But now they were stuck with him for good.

Genie had asked if Melissa could take the Ritual again as maybe Mylee made a mistake, and Melissa shook her head, saying that the ritual could only be taken once and there was no way Mylee was making a mistake as he was the War God and couldn't be wrong in his judgment.

Both Genie and Merrill were not happy with this, but seeing as they had no choice, they gathered up the gear and waited as Naruto finally arrived after being given directions to the former soldier and Knight of Ohfun' home. The blonde shinobi/ mage carried his Toad Summoning Contract scroll and his katana on his back as well as his wand.

Naruto glared deeply at the massive amount of things that were before him and he looked at Merrill, Melissa and Genie with a completely annoyed look, of all the things he was expecting from them, THIS was not one of them. They were expecting him to carry all their equipment into battle and that made him even more annoyed.

He was supposed to be a mage for Kami's sake, not a damn mule!

"You want me to carry all THIS?! What do I look like, a pack mule?!"

There were a number of clothes, weapons, tools, books, other provisions and even a whole tea set, along with a number of plates and cutlery made from silver, much to Naruto's chagrin, who the heck brought a whole tea set, cutlery, and plates to an adventure?! It made no sense to him and of course the fact that those were the kinds he knew nobility used on occasion made him even more curious as to why they were included.

Genie and the others looked on and Genie replied.

"These are out gear and equipment; you want to help us with e ruin we needed to get to? So here's your chance, but you'll have to start somewhere and besides a bit of manual labor won't kill you."

"Yeah, or are you sacred of a little manual labor?"

Merrill sneered a bit while Genie looked on, this made Naruto very annoyed.

Naruto however was not budging on the matter, in his missions both when he was in Konoha and with the Pervy Sage, he had traveled light, carrying only the bare essentials, which was money, food, spare clothes, weapons and scrolls for anything he might need as well as some basic medical gear. He learned the hard way that packing too much was a bad idea and being an adventurer meant bringing the needed things, if these three were supposed to be adventurers, they were the worst bunch he had ever seen, either that or they were doing this to intentionally test him.

"You said you needed a mage to help you with your search in the ruin for any treasure, you mentioned nothing about me carrying all these. If you wanted a pack mule why didn't you hire one to carry all this? Besides that, why bring all THIS, whoever heard of an adventuring party carrying a tea set and plates?! That's just wrong!"

Merrill replied.

"You want to complain so much? Fine, we'll find another mage to help us."

Naruto snorted and replied with crossed arms.

"And I suppose it's escaped your attention that there are no other mages willing to go out on adventures and if you're going to ask Ila to help then forget it, she's got her studies to work on. I'm the only mage here at the moment, so unless you have s summoning contract with any of the other mages, I 'm the only one you've got….and the longer we stay here arguing, the bigger chance of some other party looking for this ruin you guys are going to."

The three knew he was right, the longer they argued here with him the bigger the chance was that there would be other parties out. As much as it pained them to admit that, they were not keen on letting this argument go to him, both Merrill and Genie wanted to pay him back for what he had done two nights before and since this was a good a chance as any, then they would do what they could to really test him.

Genie then replied.

"If you won't haul that for us, then you are not coming to the ruins…"

Naruto however snorted.

"Fine, if I don't go with you, the magical seal door stays there in place and you don't get your treasure."

The three found that they were once again in an impasse as Naruto was adamant on his stance. It was not long before someone had to cave in and it wasn't Naruto. Genie could see that the mage was not budging and had to admit that the fact that he was not going to be intimidated was a bit admirable.

(At least this one's got some back bone.)

Had she and the others been aware of how hard Naruto trained to be at the level he was right now, they would have figured out that carrying luggage was not something that Naruto viewed as helpful. Learning the Water and Tree walking techniques took time and he had failed three times on the Graduation exams in the Academy before learning the Kage Bushin technique, the training for the Rasengan nearly cost him his life more than once and drove him to exhaustion, as well as learning how to summon Gamabunta and the other toads, then of course calling on the Kyuubi was also tiring as hell, then there was the training on Nature Manipulation as well as using his Kage Bushin to learn the Rasen Shuriken and then to learn the Sage Arts. To be reduced to carrying these things which were not very practical in his mind set was a very serious insult to Naruto.

Melissa could see that Naruto was dead serious about this and spoke.

"All right then, but you do realize that we still need these supplies Naruto?"

"Explain to me first why you need a set of plates, cutlery, and a tea set on an adventure? You plan on setting a picnic for the monsters if they show up?"

Melissa frowned a bit at that and replied.

"That is not your business to know, I have brought those with me for a long time since I took up the robes to be a Priestess."

"You're former nobility aren't you? Only they had the money and influence to buy and use stuff like this. I am not hauling that stuff with me, and that is final."

Genie was getting more annoyed then drew her broad sword and replied.

"This is getting tedious Naruto, either haul it or we get to doing what I should have finished back at the bar."

Naruto gave a slight smile.

"That again? All right then…if you can cut me just a bit then I'll haul this, but if I get to place a weapon on you, you allow me to have my say on this matter, deal?"

Genie grinned at idea, this was something she had been waiting for.

"All right, if I win, you stop complaining and haul everything, and if you DO win somehow, you can say what you want on the whole hauling the items deal. Understand that mage?"

"Fine, take your best shot."

Genie nodded and readied her sword and since Naruto merely stood there and readied his wand, she could attack him, she knew for a fact that mages needed time to cast a spell so a warrior needed to get close to attack Naruto, she saw Naruto move his hands and she attacked quickly. Melissa wished that this wouldn't happen, but Genie would not kill Naruto, just try and even the odds while Merrill looked on, eager to see the outcome.

They got a surprise as Naruto seemingly vanished…..only to appear behind Genie a moment later….with a large diamond shaped blade in his left hand and his wand at the ready and glowing, with the blade next to Genie's neck and throat…much to the surprise of both Melissa and Merrill.

"What the?!"

"How did he move that fast?"

Genie's eyes widened as she felt the cold flat edge of the kunai under her chin and near her neck while feeling Naruto's wand on her back and Naruto grinned. Having taken lessons from Lee and Gai, his physical speed was a lot better than before, though nowhere near that of his friend and his Jonin sensei. However, he was much faster than normal people in the sense that he used his chakra and training to increase his speed to a degree that he evaded Genie's attack easily.

He smirked and replied.

"How about that now? If this had been a real battle, then I could use my kunai, and with that, I could cut your throat open in a moment or I could fire a bolt of lightning point blank in your back, the charge might not be harmful at a certain distance but at this range, let's just say you'd be flash fried in a minute."

Genie was surprised at this and wondered if he had used magic.

(He must have used some magic! Maybe a spell that doesn't rely on incantations or something, there are some rumors of that being possible after all.)

Naruto however was getting tired of this and finally spoke to them all.

"Now that I've won this little wager, I suggest you relax and put that sword away, and then I'll have my say on this matter."

Genie growled a bit at being defeated by magic, but she knew that she had made a deal and she had to honor the wager. She placed her sword aside and Naruto could see that at this moment, they woman with the sword was being reasonable at least, though he was sure that she was going to challenge him again soon enough. Genie might a great swordswoman in this world, wielding two swords of two different sizes, but in his mind she was still going to need more training.

He recalled Raiga, Kisame, and Zabuza as well as Suigetsu , all of them were part once of the Mist Seven Swordsmen of the Village of the Hidden Mist and they had the toughest and most deadly ninja force in terms of brutality in combat. Those guys were deadlier swordsmen then Genie and considering the kinds of weapons they used, they were nasty, and of course, there was that Jinchuuriki known as Kirabi who could use seven swords at once, he had even heard that even without assistance from his bijuu, Kirabi had nearly killed Suigetsu, Jugo AND Sasuke in combat. Those guys were much deadlier warriors in his mind and would have made Genie look like a rookie with a sword.

"All right, what do you want to say?"

"First off, we are NOT bringing any cutlery, plates and the tea set because it is not needed in the forest, second, I am a mage, not a pack mule, if you want someone to carry the supplies, then divide it equally with one another so no one gets weighed down. The next is that you keep in mind that I need to be able to move if I need to cast magic to fight with, and hauling all this is only going to make that part of the job of mage even harder. Are we clear on that? Because if we're not, I am not going to help you with the ruins even if you three decide to attack me all at once."

The three looked at one another and Melissa sighed and removed the tea set, plate set, and the cutlery, once those were out of sight, she turned to Naruto and spoke to him with a slightly sullen tone.

"All right, the tea set, cutlery and the plates are gone, can we go now?"

Naruto smiled at that and then replied.

"Good, now just for today since you three decided to LISTEN to me for once instead of trying to cut me down like a reed, I'll carry these items, but only for today so don't expect me to be your pack mule the next time we work together."

Merrill snorted at that.

"Don't get any ideas, this is a onetime deal."

"I rather doubt that, since despite my dislike on the matter. Now then, allow me to handle this part so we can get on our merry way."

Naruto placed aside the kunai and his wand and then took out a trio of scrolls and unwrapped them, these were summoning/storage scrolls that he had on hand when he got sent here in this word and he would always keep these handy, Melissa Genie, and Merrill looked at the scrolls with some degree of confusion as the language was unknown to them, they looked like chicken scratches compared to the runes that they were familiar with.

Naruto took all the food, medicine and provisions into one scroll and placed them all there and then used the hand seals and the food, and medicine all disappeared and there in the middle of the scroll was the word for supplies. Naruto then rolled up the scroll and retired it and placed it away, he did the same for the spare weapons and other gear and then repeated the procedure and the items disappeared. He then placed the other items, namely the clothes and spare items

Genie touched the scrolls and opened them but couldn't make heads or tails of the words and the same could be said for Melissa and the Priestess turned and spoke.

"What are these?"

"Storage/Summoning scrolls, they are a necessity for me since they allow me to carry large numbers of items without being weighed down and no they aren't magic after all."

Genie snorted.

"Not magic huh?"

"Nope, magic uses runes and mediums such as wands, medallions and the like, these scrolls don't use runes and I'm, the only one who understands the language and it works only with the right hand seals, plus it needs another method to be used, and that is blood."

"Blood?"

"Yep, but that's for another time."

He took the scroll and retied it and did the same to the two other scrolls.

The three looked at the blonde and wondered what he meant, but he was not saying anything else at the moment and took the scrolls and placed them into his back pouch.

"If I was to carry them the old fashioned way, that would inhibit my ability to cast magic as I would be weighed down and nothing is more annoying for a mage than to be weighed down." Now let's go shall we?"

--------

At the ruin…

Naruto and the others arrived at the sight and the first thing they needed to do was move some of the debris out of the way. And he turned to the others and spoke.

"So this is the ruin you three are so hot to have me open?"

"Yes, this place was no doubt left behind by some noble family, we had to fight with a band of goblins when we came here before."

Naruto thought it over and then recalled something on his way back to Ohfun previously.

"So you guys were the ones making that entire racket when I went through the forest a few days ago. It figures, so where the door is you guys are having problems with?"

"Underneath there."

Melissa pointed to a large pile of stones there and Naruto gave the Priestess a look of annoyance.

"Let me guess, you want me to move the debris right?"

Melissa nodded and replied.

"You can use magic for that after all."

Naruto snorted and replied.

"Bad idea, I use battle magic remember? If I tried using battle magic on the rubble, there's a big chance I'd just make it worse, the last thing we need is the whole tower falling on our heads you know."

"So how do you plan to do it, lift them all by hand?"

Genie and Merrill looked on as Naruto placed down his massive scroll that was on his back and then made some of those odd hand signs and then spoke.

"KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!!!!"

In a large poof of smoke, the blonde mage was surrounded by a large number of exact duplicates of himself, surprising the others as he was not using his wand to cast the spell, just those weird hand gestures and then those copies of him just showed up and were ready to get their orders from the blonde mage. Three of the copies moved to the forest and while the others quickly moved to the rubble and Naruto turned and spoke.

"Those three will be the sentries, anything they see, they will tell me, now then, time to get to work."

Genie was surprised at this, she had heard of spells that were able to make illusions so real to the eye that it would be difficult to tell the difference from the real thing, but this was done before her without the use of a wand, and as far as she could see, the man only had his wand but had not used it.

(He must be using a medium that I can't see at the moment, never mind, as long as that door is open I don't care what else he can do at the moment. But let's see if annoying him can be done.)

(Hmmm….neat trick, but I don't need magic for that.)

Merrill thought as she looked one.

Meanwhile Melissa was thinking even more about how to deal with the fact that Naruto was her champion and wondered what could happen once Naruto got down there in the ruins. She paled at the memories and what Jenny had said to her the night before. She was surprised at the fact that Naruto could do his Kage Bushin, and then, much to her horror, her imagination got the better of her as she began to wonder just what he would do to her if he decides to ask her to…sleep….with him, and he would use that on her…

(THIS IS AGAINST MY WILL!!! THIS IS AGAINST MY WILL!!!)

"Hey Melissa, are you all right? You look REALLY pale."

Melissa realized that her imagination was going wild again and quickly managed to calm herself and spoke to Merrill's question.

With that, the blonde shinobi/mage got to work on removing the rocks and then focused on the heaviest one of the bunch, and it was then that Genie decided to help. That surprised the others and Naruto also.

"I was under the impression you were not planning on helping."

"Hey, you made it this far and you've got SOME backbone. Might as well do something to help you out a bit, besides, you won't be a good mage if you break your back and become useless."

Naruto snorted as he and his Kage Bushin as well as Genie lifted the slab and then it hit the ground. Naruto then walked over to others and reached into his back pouch to get the scroll that had the food in it, unwrapped it, bit his hand to draw blood, much to the surprise of the others and then traced the blood on the scroll, placed it on the ground and spoke.

"Release!!"

The food appeared and Naruto grabbed some food and ate his share while the others got their food. Melissa had to admit to some degree that Naruto was not too bad, though she still had her doubts of his worthiness as a hero.

As soon as he was done, the Kage Bushin poofed away and he sat down to rest a bit, it was always draining to have the information to come back, but Naruto, ever the ninja sucked it up and got to work on his next task.

Naruto looked over the large double door that was there before him and decided to exam it further to make sure there wasn't anything else in the area that could prove a danger to him and the others, if there was one thing he knew for a fact, ruins don't always have to be trapped with magic, plus his experiences in his world taught him even more. As soon as he was done, he got to work and took out another of his scrolls and checked on the record of seals to be sure he had the right one, there were variants after all of a certain seal.

He ran his wand over the stone and saw the lines of magic that held the stone slab in place…

It was then that the rather impatient Merrill spoke.

"So? How long does it take for you to open this thing up?"

"Keep your pants on, this isn't as easy as it looks, whoever sealed this place up went through a lot of trouble to lock it down in the first place. This might take a while so let me do my work."

"Maybe you need to read your books again then, considering that you've only studied in the Guild for a short time and no doubt skipping classes made it harder for you since you didn't graduate from what I've heard."

Genie said, rubbing in the fact that she found out that Naruto had a bad habit of skipping classes by using some cloning spell to annoy his instructors, this told her that he was not a good mage since he had not attended graduation. Genie however was unaware of the fact that his Kage Bushin had been gathering information and not just covering for him as well.

Naruto turned and gave his tormentor a very simple look and replied.

"And I suppose you know the difference between White and Black Magic? Do you know how to cast a cantrip or how to cast a fireball? Do you know how to create a wall of water or create a massive gale with a wave of a wand? Because if you do, by all means do it right now so we can stop yapping and get this treasure you three seem to be after. If you can't do any of that stuff, then let ME worry about how to get this darn thing loose, all right?"

With that done, Naruto went back to looking the thing over while Genie stewed a bit as despite being angry with him, she knew he was right, magic was not her strong point.

Melissa was not happy with how this was going and then spoke to Naruto.

"Naruto, you don't have to be so abrasive…"

"It's the truth after all Melissa, I doubt she could break through this door with her sword, because if breaking this sealed door was so simple then she could have done this. Now I need to work on this, take a break but be ready, if what you told me is any indication, those goblins might come back and the last thing we all need is them behind us."

Melissa could see that Naruto was serious as he studied the door and she decided to leave him be though she still felt somewhat curious about this mage they hired, he was certainly not what she expected of a spell caster.

Naruto managed to determine that it was a Earth bonding spell and it was the reinforcing variant, it made sense at the very least, this door was made from gathered earth and then ritually bonded to the stone in the entrance and if it was hit hard or pried the spell would just gather energy from the surroundings and reinforce itself, somewhat similar to the chakra circulatory system in a ninja. He then recalled witnessing the Byakugan in action when he saw Neji and Hinata fight and his battle with Neji and for a brief moment, he wondered how they were doing and spoke his thoughts out loud.

"I wonder how Neji and Hinata are doing back home?"

Merrill, who was eating a bun spoke.

"Who are Neji and Hinata anyway? Friends of your in the Guild?"

Naruto shook his head.

"No, old friends of mine….back in my land, I'm hoping to see them again since it's….been some time since I've seen them. Anyway, this seal is almost dealt with so hold on."

That was enough to get the attention of the group and then Naruto chanted the right spell and worked his magic and as the door vanished back into earth and dust, the female trio moved forward with genie in the lead with a lit magical torch and went in and then Naruto moved on in as well, and Merrill replied.

"Take the back Mage."

"Hey, this mage has a name and that is Naruto, so use it Shorty."

"What was that?!"

Merrill glared and spoke as she readied her daggers and the others looked at Naruto who was far from intimidated and he spoke.

"You heard me Shorty, use my name the next time you speak in my direction, do that and I use your real name and I won't call you Shorty."

"Don't you call me with that name you arrogant jerk!"

" Arrogant Jerk am I? All right then, how about I call you Squirt, or Tiny?"

"YOU…"

"Say my name Pipsqueak…it won't kill you and its proper after all."

Merrill gritted her teeth and then walked away in a huff.

"You're not worth it!!"

"All right then you Human Flea, but I'll still call you by other names, How about Ant Queen? Or how about I call you a Skinny Female Gnome? Or maybe I can call you a Pint Sized Scarecrow?"

Merrill was fuming, one issue she had was the fact that she was short, while that was an advantage in her profession as a thief, it still galled her and Naruto was not making things any better when he called her a scarecrow and she was tempted, oh she WAS tempted to fire her daggers but had enough and spoke.

"Fine! Naruto… will you take the rear position?"

"Now that didn't hurt did it? Thanks for using my real name this time Merrill."

Merrill gritted her teeth and replied.

"You're welcome…Naruto"

Melissa then spoke to Naruto.

"That was uncalled for Naruto! Merrill is very sensitive about her…"

"Height? Listen Melissa, I have a name, and it's not Mage or any of the sort it's Naruto, it's considered a sign of courtesy to say a person's name went addressing someone right?"

"Yes it is…"

"See? I don't call you names since you use my name properly but she didn't…so who's at fault here?"

"But to speak of Merrill in such terms….it's…"

"Ungentlemanly? Maybe, but it worked didn't it? Now let's go."

In truth , calling Merrill by those names was a bit much in his mind, back then he used to be the short one in the class, next to Hinata when she was a student and his height was always a bone of contention for him, and while the insults were effective on Merrill, it reminded him about how he himself used to be picked on by his height as well when he was a kid.

The group moved down while Merrill gritted her teeth and was imaging how to make Naruto pay for those names he called her. However as they moved deeper into the ruins, Naruto was getting a sinking feeling and since the Kyuubi had enhanced the sense of smell that he had on him, it was able to tell him to be wary.

((There's creatures down here kit, I can smell them….possibly goblins.))

Naruto nodded and he was wary, if there were goblins in the forest, then were would no doubt be others in the place below and he spoke.

"I got a bad feeling about this place…something stinks of trouble in the air."

"Or it could be just you smelling your sweat."

Genie replied as a snide remark and Naruto replied.

"If it was, then you smell too."

"What?!"

"You were sweating too if I were to recall, maybe your smelling yourself?"

Genie turned and spoke as she reached for her sword.

"Be careful what you say Naruto, you are getting into more trouble than you think."

"Genie, Naruto, please calm down, we have to find the treasure here first."

Genie nodded and moved on and Melissa reproached Naruto.

"It's not proper to say that to a woman Naruto!"

"It's the truth to an extent, If you don't want to be said that you smell, don't start by saying it yourself to another person, though at this moment the scent of a woman is a lot better than the smell I'm getting….we're not alone in here Melissa, get that weapon of yours ready."

Melissa wondered what Naruto meant by that as they arrived in the main chamber and spotted a large tomb and then Genie opened it and they saw that there was nothing inside, Merrill was not happy but that was when Naruto turned around and shouted.

"KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!!!!!"

In the moment they were surrounded by a ring of Naruto's Kage Bushin, and sure enough, the reason for the blonde' actions was seen as a massive army of goblins came at them.

Merrill put tow and two together and spoke.

"This place must have been raided already and the goblins must have made this place into a nest….damn it, this ruin's already worthless."

Genie readied her sword and replied as Melissa also got ready with her war hammer.

"We can worry about that later Merrill, we need to fight our way out for now! If this is a nest then the ones we fought with the days before must have been out hunting! Let's fight our way out before we become their dinner!"

The goblins closed in and Naruto got ready to fight and so did Merrill, Melissa, and Genie, the three of them were getting ready to fight for their lives, the three had expected the blonde mage to use magic, but Naruto however had another idea, the fact that there were hordes of the goblins meant that using magic was not a good idea until he could deal with the numbers.

Thus magic was out and the art of the ninja is in, it was time for Naruto to stop being the mage and become the ninja!!!

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To be continued…

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Author's Notes:

There, that should be all right for now, this is just the second chapter and I have to study the anime all over again so to make sure that I get this right the first time and not get accused of stealing another person's work, it is a lot closer to the anime and a bit close to the manga so I hope that this mixture will be enough to make a good storyline for this series.

Anyway, I hope you readers like this. I had to make some changes as well to the orignal story, I was in a hurry so this happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Rune Soldier Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own either the series of Naruto and Rune Soldier Louie, because if I did, I'd be one rich dude right?

Chapter 3

Battle in the Ruins

( ): Thoughts

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Back in Konoha…

Tsunade slammed her hands on the desk with surprise in her face as well disbelief.

"Naruto disappeared?!"

It had nearly been half an hour or so in the Hokage Tower when she had been busy running through some documents with Shizune when Sai as well as Yamato walked in, she looked at the former member of Danzo's Root ANBU as well as the ANBU sensei of Naruto, Sai, and Sakura, she had been wondering just what was going on at the moment u8ntil she was told what happened.

Yamato nodded as he and Sai looked on, Shizune was quite surprised by this as she and Tsunade looked at one another. The Hokage was not happy with what she had just learned and she had been hoping for a nice day in the office, with the threat of Akatsuki gone, as well as Madara and Sasuke, she had been hoping that peace would finally settle in not just Konoha but all over the countries.

She had been planning for the next year's Chuunin exams and planed to personally hand Naruto his application for the Exams. Naruto was still a Genin in rank though many ninja in Konoha as well as in Suna consider him to be already a Jonin in ability as well as being able to be given the title of Sannin as well as a very likely Hokage candidate. She smiled at the thought of Naruto finally getting to get closer to be a Hokage, just like his father Minato…

But now this?!

"I am afraid so, the portal came out of nowhere and dragged Naruto into it, we attempted to rescue him but the portal faded."

Tsunade sat back, this was totally unexpected, while there had been stories of portal opening at times and there were supposed to be jutsus that could open dimensional gates, she was not keen on believing them completely. There were too many things happening at once before and she needed time to process and think them all through. She wished that Jiraiya was still alive, despite being a perverted old man, her friend and fellow Sannin was a master of seals and several powerful jutsus, and he might have been able to find a way to trace Naruto.

As she thought on it, she decided to ask Yamato a question.

"Was Naruto carrying the Toad Summoning Contract with him?"

"I believe so Tsunade-sama."

"Hmm…he might be able to use it to summon Gamabunta or the other toads to help him, he might even be able to send himself back here through summoning. But that would require a considerable amount of jutsu."

Sai then spoke.

"We could try and locate him Tsunade-sama, he might have been only transported in another country."

"Are you sure of that?"

"It's a possibility. I know that it's far fetched but that seems to be the likely possibility we have to work with at the moment."

Tsunade thought over and then spoke to Shizune.

"Shizune, send out dispatches through the mail with pictures of Naruto so we can see if he was been seen around the rest of Fire Country, and dispatch several teams to our allied countries to make sure that we can at least have some idea on where Naruto is."

"Hai Hokage-sama!"

Shizune went to work to find Naruto while Tsunade thought over many things that were flying about in her head on this new development. She then thought of Hinata and Sakura, the two were close to Naruto and no doubt they were taking this situation very hard, Sakura was tougher than she looked and could handle herself well enough, but Hinata was another matter. She then spoke to Yamato on that particular train of thought.

"How are Hinata and Sakura taking this?"

The ANBU and now new Jonin sensei of the reformed Team 7 spoke.

"Hinata-san is currently back in the Hyuuga estate while Sakura is with her."

--------

Hinata was not very happy as she sat on the walkway of her home's court yard, the same court yard that her cousin Neji and her father Hiashi would usually train in. Her thoughts were on what had just happened to her long time crush and current boy friend and it made her feel even more sad that something had happened to Naruto.

"Here Hinata, this might help."

Hinata turned and there was Sakura with a glass of cold water and she took it as she drank some of the contents. As soon as she was done, she spoke to Sakura.

"What could be happening to Naruto-kun? Why did this have to happen?"

"I don't k now, but we will find him Hinata, count on it."

"But what if he's in trouble?!"

"Hinata, Naruto's defeated Uchiha Madara, Pain, Akatsuki, Sasuke and Team Hawk, and others as well, all of whom are powerful ninja, I think he can handle himself well enough on his own. We have to believe in him like we always have. I don't know what kind of trouble he might be in, but he will fight his way out of it, as well as surprise people along the way."

--------

Naruto was in trouble all right, but as before, he was going to find his way out of it well enough….and surprise a number of people along the way.

--------

In the Ruins…

Naruto scanned the area and realized that the current situation was not good for a mage, while he knew that Merrill, Genie, and Melissa could handle themselves, there was no way he could be able to cast spells, fire balls were a good choice, but there was a chance he could bring the whole ruin right on their heads, area of effect spells like chain lighting were out of the question as well since there was a chance the others could get hit…

That left only one option….it was time to stop being a mage and be a shinobi.

One of the Goblins attacking the group tried to attack the Kage Bushin before it but got cut down by Genie with her sword and the swordswoman turned to Naruto and spoke.

"What are you waiting for?! Use your magic!!!"

Naruto shook his head and replied.

"This isn't the kind of terrain for it, I might use a spell that can bring the whole ruin collapsing on our heads. It's time to quit being a mage…and become a Shinobi."

Melissa and the others were curious what that meant but Naruto was not going to answer as he quickly took out a pair of kunai and leaped into the fight. As he closed the gap the blonde ninja was accompanied by his Kage Bushin, and the group smashed hard into the large group of Goblins. One of the Kage Bushin kneeled in front of Naruto as the blonde suddenly leaped into the air and fired the kunai at a pair of Goblins who were lifting some of the rocks to use as projectiles.

The Goblins roared in pain as the leaf shaped daggers struck home on their shoulders, and unlike Merrill's daggers, the kunai were more effective due to their design and power in combat both as ranged weapons as for close combat. Naruto was quickly joined by his Kage Bushin as he quickly summoned more of his Kage Bushin in flight.

"TAJUU!!! KAGE BUSHIN!!!!"

In the span of a human heart beat, the Goblins found themselves seeing over five hundred exact copies of the blonde Genin flying over them. They stopped their attacks as despite not being too intelligent, they were not expecting this, and their hesitation was shared by Melissa, Merrill, and Genie, they had seen him create more copies of himself before….but never this many at once!

(What the?!)

Merrill was surprised at this, she had expected this to be the work of a charm or something as mages would use other mediums for magic apart from wands, and could copies of themselves, but she had never heard of the mage making THIS many at once!!

Naruto then reached for his pouch and in each of his hands were three shuriken and that equaled to at least six shuriken in hand, but when one would add that to the same number of shuriken in all of the other Kage Bushin. Naruto had at least three thousand six shuriken in hand, mirroring the attack that he had done on Gaara when they fought during the invasion of both Oto and Suna on his village.

"SHIHOHAPPO SHURIKEN!!!!"

The attack was devastating as the Kage Bushin unleashed a storm of shuriken, while this technique was not that powerful he was told that it was considered an A-ranked Jutsu through the use of Kage Bushin and while it had been some time since he had used this particular technique it would prove to be deadly in it's own right. The Goblins found this out the hard way as they were bombarded by the weapons and there was a loud scream of pain from the monsters as they were hit hard by the attacks. As the technique allowed Naruto and his Kage Bushin to attack with the shuriken in all directions, the enemy would have a hard time blocking that many attacks at once.

The Goblins resembled pin cushions in a heartbeat as the shuriken were sticking out of them as Naruto closed in with his Kage Bushin, the very second he landed in the middle of the Goblin forces, he went to work using his Taijutsu training, he dodged a club strike aiming for his head and rolled down to the floor and used his hands to spring board his feet right into the chin off the Goblins sending the monster flying back into his companions.

As soon as he was on his feet, he flipped back as another tried to slash him with a crude sword and he landed and charged right in as soon as he was on his feet, dodging the sword strike and unleashing a hard left upper cut on the chin and then he struck at the foot forcing the Goblin to move forward and as soon as that happened, the blonde ninja moved in and grabbed the Goblin's sword arm, he quickly flipped the Goblin over, using his chakra to augment his strength, the throw sent the Goblin flying right into his compatriots, resulting in a pile up.

The Kage Bushin were also thrashing the Goblins as one joined Naruto as the two of them charged towards their foe, the Goblin tried to use a crude spear to stab either of them, but the Kage Bushin moved in low and landed a powerful kick to the stomach while Naruto leaped into the air, delivering a powerful spinning heel kick to the side of the Goblin's head. The Goblin fell back as Naruto moved in with a kunai in hand, he blocked another clumsy club strike from another Goblin, he quickly stabbed the Goblin on the thigh, making it growl as he unleashed a powerful kick to the chin and followed through with another kunai strike to the side when another Kage Bushin closed in just Gai did with his Dainamikku Entoni move as the Kage Bushin unleashed a powerful flying kick into the face of the Goblin.

Two Kage Bushin also moved in with their own attacks as both used Gai and Lee's moves in combat, one used the Konoha Shofu attack sending a Goblin into the air for a short distance while the other unleashed a powerful spinning heel kick to send the Goblin crashing down to the floor hard. Naruto had been trained by both Gai and sparred with lee so he knew a portion of their moves, though he could never match the full power of both ninja, Gai said that with Naruto's abilities, both he and Lee would be true Taijutsu masters and coming from Gai, that was something in itself. He however learned early on that the physical strain would limit his use of Gai and Lee's techniques, but with his stamina as well as the Kyuubi's healing, he could handle it to a degree.

Naruto moved in and unleashed even more hurt with his Kage Bushin in combat while the others watched on as the blonde was tearing through the opposition like a hurricane running through a forest as well as a village. A pair of Goblins tried to double team him, but they got far worse as Naruto leaped over the first and landed both his feet into the face of the second Goblin, he then flipped backwards over the first Goblin as it tried to strike him from behind and he landed on his feet, he then split downward and landed a powerful blow to the crotch. While the Goblin was by no means human, it had the same human anatomy and the Goblin roared in pain at the hit….dropping the club as Naruto got on the move, using his hands to spin his legs, slamming a hard kick into the face of the Goblin as he got to his feet.

Naruto then spun a pair of kunai in his hands and used them to block yet another attack aimed at him by another Goblin with a stone club, the clashing of their weapons as heard as the Goblin tried to use it's strength to force Naruto back. Normally a Goblin's strength was higher than that of a normal human, but Naruto was far from ordinary as he summoned a portion of the Kyuubi's chakra and retaliated by forcing the Goblin back, the creature was joined by two others from either side and they were armed with stones to throw at Naruto.

The blonde ninja saw that and quickly flipped backward and while in flight fired both kunai at the Goblins, wounding them in the arc of his flip. The thrown kunai wounded the Goblins and forced them to drop their stones, which smacked them right on the heads with a resounding crack. Naruto was then joined by a pair of his Kage Bushin who blocked the club and forced it back into the air as Naruto unleashed a powerful spinning kick to the chest of the Goblin.

Several more of the Goblin closed in but with their numbers thinned down by the Kage Bushin, the Goblin forces were quickly being beaten back quickly by the blonde Sannin.

(What the heck is this?!)

Genie was not happy with what she was witnessing, in her mind, the measure of a warrior was their skill with weapons such as axes, swords, spears, bows or other assorted weapons. Fists and feet were used only by tavern brawlers and as such, had no place in the battle field. That was why she dismissed the fighting style that Naruto was using, there was no way this mage could be a real fighter if he relied only on his fists, I real warrior couldn't defeat monsters alone with his fists. though she did admit that the kunai and shuriken were rather interesting to see in action, of course, she would never say it out loud.

Merrill looked on as the blonde ninja moved through the ranks of the Goblins with an ease that made her wonder just what was going on, she had never heard of anyone fighting Goblins with their bare hands before and she couldn't help but wonder just what was the deal with this guy, he was certainly no mage that she knew of. Or he could be using some charms to increase his speed and strength, yeah, that could be the reason he could fight the Goblins using only his hands and feet, no person could ever win a fight using just hands and feet when dealing with monsters right?

(Why is he fighting like a…a drunken brawler?!)

Melissa couldn't help but feel very shocked as well as disgusted, she had envisioned her champion to be the perfect gentleman and would use a sword, or in the situation before her, use his magic, but here he was fighting like a drunken brawler before her. She couldn't help but wonder why was this her fate and having such a vulgar man as her champion. He fought without gentlemanly control as well as using such underhanded tactics, he had magic and a sword so why is he fighting like a drunken brawler in a tavern fight?!

Apparently the three of them had been so used to their world's method of fight enemies that they had no idea that as a ninja Naruto had to learn how to fight hand to hand, all ninjas had to learn the basic arts of Taijutsu to supplement their skills in either Genjutsu or Ninjutsu

The three had gotten to so caught up that they didn't notice that another band of Goblins were heading towards them. Naruto however spotted the incoming forces and shouted a warning.

"HEY!!! QUIT GAWKING AND LOOK BEHIND YOU!!!!"

The three of them turned to see the Goblins heading towards them with their own weapons as well as the hungry look, some of them also resembled the very same Goblins that they were dealing with a few days before.

The three began to fight with the Goblins with Merrill using her daggers and throwing daggers, with Genie using her sword and Melissa using her war hammer. The fight was going well enough, until Naruto came in the scene and began to help fight the monsters when one managed to break through. This one Goblin was an apparently larger and much stronger one and was armed with a rusty but still useful and sharp short sword. The Goblin charged at Melissa and Naruto quickly moved in to help as best he could.

He moved in and spotted the sword going down and there was no time to get a kunai and he grabbed the one thing that he knew was handy, his wand, he grabbed it and used it to block the sword going down. The trick worked but as the Goblin moved it's sword free, a considerable chunk of his wand was removed. That got Naruto angry, he needed the wand to use magic to find a way home and now that Goblin had just trashed it.

"THAT'S IT YOU UGLY BASTARD!!! YOU ARE SO DEAD!!!"

Naruto didn't revert to his tailed Jinchuuriki forms but he used instead his basic Jinchuuriki form and the red chakra of the Kyuubi finally came out from his body and since the chakra was powerful enough to create the shell he needed only to handle the rotation of the chakra and then as soon as the glowing blue sphere was formed with the red chakra of the Kyuubi surrounding it Naruto smashed it hard into the massive Goblin.

"TAKE THIS!!! RASENGAN!!!!"

BOOM!!

The results were more than explosive as the Rasengan smashed hard into the larger Goblin and sent him flying like a rocket out of a launch pad, the Goblin leader was sent6 smashing hard into the other Goblins and Naruto got his wand, he looked at it with a sad and angry look, this was the wand he needed to get home with, as well as a special present for him by Carwess who was a good man to him as well as a great friend and teacher. And now here it was…ruined.

However he knew that since this mission was a bust, they would have to get out of the area fast, the Goblins were very much out of the way as his actions on their leader had apparently frightened the usually ferocious Goblins into leaving them along for the time being. He then turned to the rest of his companions and spoke to them.

"Come on, those Goblins won't be back for a while, now's the time to leave."

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Outside…

As the group came out into the sun light of the afternoon, Naruto sighed as he checked his gear, everything seemed to be there, though he was not happy with the fact that his wand got damaged in the fighting. A portion had been shorn off by a Goblin's rusty but still sharp short sword when he had no choice but to use his wand to block an incoming strike aimed for Melissa by the Goblin that managed to fight past Genie and Merrill.

The wand was not totally useless, but he needed a replacement in order to use magic again and he would have to figure out what to do…

"This whole adventure was a total loss!!!"

Merrill was not happy with the results of their searching for treasure had turned out to be a bust, the supplies they bought were all on credit and now that was added to their debt to the collectors.

"Having a mage should have brought in more chances to find treasure, but we are still deep in the red!!"

Genie sighed at the news while Melissa had a very disappointed look, Naruto saw that before and replied.

"Why are you three so out of it anyway?"

The others looked at him with disbelief and Merrill was the first to make her frustration known. She walked over to Naruto and glared at him while speaking in a very annoyed tone.

"Why are you so smug Naruto?! We thought this place had treasure and it turns out it had none!!!"

Naruto gave her a glare and replied.

"And why are you getting mad at me anyway? As far as I recall you were the ones who found this ruin and you asked me to help you open it. No sense in you getting worked up about this, I bet you're not the first to find a ruin already raided and you won't be the last either. Besides, there are other ruins to look for in this world and there's always a chance that you can get one that has the real goods, but in this case, the most precious thing at the moment is our lives all right."

Merrill shook her head and moved away in an annoyed mood, they were deeper in debt and this mage or whatever he was at the moment, was being cool about it though he was right in some part of it. She decided to just figure out how to deal with the soon to come collectors on her case.

Naruto couldn't help but wonder just what he had agreed to, he had better things to do than waste his time with this bunch, and added to that was the fact that his wand was trashed and he would have to get a new one. He gave a snort and placed the wand back on his back. That was when Genie spoke.

"Why weren't you using magic in the beginning? You could have finished the Goblins easily."

"I said that using magic would be a bad idea in that kind of enclosed space, if I did, there was a chance the ruins would have fallen on us."

"You're lying, that glowing sphere you used was magic wasn't it?"

Naruto shook his head and showed his ruined wand once more and spoke to the swordswoman.

"In case it may have escaped your attention, my wand is ruined so I can't use it for the moment, besides that, the Rasengan doesn't need magic to be used."

"Did you use a charm or a medium?"

"No, the Rasengan is something I use that has no magic, and that's all I am going to say. Now I got to get a new wand, I hope you girls have enough funds to help me get a new one."

That got a reaction from Merrill as she turned and replied.

"WHY SHOULD WE GIVE OUR MONEY TO HELP YOU?!"

Naruto growled and replied.

"Two reasons, first I had to sacrifice my wand to prevent your friend from being reduced to sushi by that massive Goblin. And the second is the fact that since I am part of this team I expect to be given the same level of help as anyone here."

"We are already in the red as it is! We can't give any money already!"

Naruto shook his head at this and growled mentally and spoke.

"Of all the things I have to deal with right now…man, if Kiba was here, he'd laugh his ass off, and I can't even begin to guess how Akamaru would react…"

With that in mind, Naruto moved away and took out his wand to look at the ruined medium. it annoyed him to no end that this happened at this time, he had gathered all he could in order to find a way back home to Konoha, he had no idea how the village was doing, and how his friends were dealing with disappearance, he also thought about Hinata as well as Sakura, how were they handling the fact that he was no longer there?

Melissa was still in a very sad state of mind, she had gotten a man who fought in a very ungentlemanly way, he was not fighting fair when facing the enemy, as well as the fact that he was not above hitting women, something that she still didn't find the least bit desirable in a hero, this young mage was not her definition of a hero in the least, but yet she could do little at the moment as she looked at the setting sun. She looked at Naruto and noted something, the blonde mage or whatever he called himself looked at his wand with a very serious eye, and she recalled that he had used it to block the sword of the Goblin that was about to attack her and that made her realize that he had given up his wand to save her life.

Naruto however had other things on his mind, it was going to take another set of days before they got back to Ohfun and he decided to go to Master Carwess and see if he can have a new one made for him, he knew it was not going to be easy and it was going to be a pain in the neck for him. But if getting a new wand was the way to get home, he was going to do it.

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In the tavern…

"My God….that actually happened?!"

Ila couldn't believe the story that Naruto was telling her through the orb she had with her, the orb was something that she had decided to give Naruto when he was still in the Academy and it made her happy that he had not lost it.

Naruto scratched his head and nodded.

"Yep, my wand's useless now, and it was the one Carwess-sensei handed to me when I left the Guild too….damn waste."

Ila could tell that Naruto was feeling down, she thought it over and had to admit that the wand would indeed be of importance to her friend. She couldn't help but wish she could do something to help him. However, she did have some bad news to hand to her friend.

"I guess you're going to have to get a new wand made, and that's going to be risky…you know you do need to find a five hundred year old oak tree to make the medium for the wand right?"

"I haven't forgotten Ila, and it take three days to make a new wand, Carwess-sensei told me about it and Old Foltess never let that fact slid whenever he got the chance. And since the Guild is the only place in demand for that kind of wood, I take it they have some in stock?"

"That's….the bad news actually, our stock for the wood is already dry since we had to ship a number of it to the other Guild's outside of Ohfun so there's none for Master Carwess to make And the only place that the wood can be found is in the Tarsuis Forest."

"The Tarsuis Forest? The one with the name of the Demon Forest?"

"I'm afraid so, it's the only place where you can find the wood and there's always the story that only one out of ten people who get lost there come back alive."

(Hmmm…reminds me of the Forest of Death back in Konoha…)

"It doesn't matter where it is Ila, I need a new wand, I guess I'll head back to Ohfun and get some supplies rounded up for the trip."

"But aren't you worried a bit about what the dangers are in the Demon Forest Naruto?"

"Ila…let's just say that when I was younger, I was in WORSE places than that. I guess I'll see you back in Ohfun."

"All right, be careful Naruto."

As Naruto's image faded away, Ila couldn't help but still feel worried about her long time friend from the Guild, Naruto had some very amazing abilities but going to the Demon Forest was something that she was worried about greatly, she had heard all manner of rumors surrounding this place and despite her cheerful outlook on things the place was far from pleasant in her mind. She knew that there was no way that Naruto would be dissuaded from his chosen course of action. He was stubborn and hard to dissuade when he got his mind on things.

(I wish I could help him in some fashion….hey, maybe I can use some of the stuff I've collected over the years….besides, I can always send a letter to my dad and ask for supplies to give Naruto.)

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In the forest…

As he placed aside the crystal, the blonde ninja/mage looked at the stars and was now deep in thought. He was not kidding when he said he had been in worse places than the forest he would be going to. The Forest of Death where he took the Chuunin Exams came to mind, wild tigers, snakes the size of a horse, blood sucking slugs the size of dog puppies, and more besides. There were also some of the places he had gone to with so many traps and hidden surprises; he could have made a guide on it all. Not to mention he had been in a volcano fighting a massive demonic dragon with Shion, a giant ship of steel fighting with Temujin against Haido, trapped with Hinata with Kiba and Akamaru in a giant chameleon 's stomach , he also got swallowed by one of the snake summons of Orochimaru. Fought in a floating air fortress with Sasuke, Sakura, as well as Hinata and Amaru, and he had seen one of Orochimaru's labs…

As he thought about the situation before him, he looked at the camp that they had set up and he was there sitting on a tree branch, using his Tree walking technique to get up there. He thought about his actions, revealing his Rasengan to the others, he had wanted to keep that a secret, but his anger at losing the wand made him lose his focus….he could almost here his late Jonin sensei Kakashi scolding him for that.

(He would have said that this was no game and revealing your abilities to a foe was a mistake….man I miss you Kakashi-sensei…)

"Naruto!"

The blonde Sannin looked down to see Melissa looking up at him and he replied.

"What is it Melissa?"

"I just wanted to know where you were, how did you get up there?"

"Simple, I jumped."

"But that's over twenty feet! Did you use magic again?"

Naruto sighed at that and got off the tree branch and to Melissa's surprise, he WALKED off the branch, down the tree and then onto the ground, despite the fact he carried on his back his giant scroll as well as his sword and his wand, or what was left of it. As soon as he was on the ground, Melissa spoke.

"How did you?"

"Not today Melissa, I'm not telling any more secrets and I'm in a foul mood already."

"About the wand?"

Naruto nodded and took out the ruined wand.

"Carwess-sensei gave this to me as a gift when I went out adventuring when I left the Guild a few months back. It was something I needed to keep as well as find my way back home."

This surprised Melissa a bit, she thought Naruto would have been born in Ohfun like his friend Ila.

"I thought your home was in Ohfun."

"It isn't…..my home's a LONG way from here, I was hoping to go back….there's still a lot to do for me to get home. Anyway, I'm not in the mood for a discussion, and you don't need to say anything about me using my wand to save your life."

"How did?"

Naruto looked at her with a simple look.

"Let's just say I was expecting it to happen at some point, besides, until I get a wand, seeing my home is going to have to wait. Anyway you'd better go grab something to eat, its still a long way to Ohfun from here."

As Naruto walked away, Melissa looked at him and wondered just what was the deal with her champion…and why was it he needed a wand as well as magic to get home, he could take a caravan as well as ride a ship home. Not that it was her business, she still wished she had a real champion to be with.

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In Ohfun a day later...

"YOU WANT TO GO WHERE?!"

The three women were shocked at this, they had just arrived at Ohfun and had spent the day resting and hoping to get some things straightened out, but now, just hours after they had arrived in the tavern for a drink the blonde mage arrived and told them that he was going to Tarsuis Forest to get wood from a 500 year old oak tree to get a new wand made..

Naruto sighed and replied.

"I said I was planning to go to the Tarsuis Forest to get some 500 year old oak wood to have a new wand made to replace my ruined wand, I figured I should ask you all to help, but if you're not interested…"

"Of course we're not interested in this idea of yours you blonde dummy!"

"What was that Pip Squeak?"

Merrill growled and was eager for a chance to get even when Genie spoke at that moment.

"You're asking us to go with you to a place where very few have ever come back just that after all, what do you think we are? People with a death wish?"

"You don't HAVE to come along you know, I only made the offer, I sure as heck am not going to force you three to come along. I'll do it myself if I have to."

Merrill looked at him in a very shocked fashion and replied.

"You've got to be kidding! You go there alone?! You're crazy as a loon to think you have chance there without that wand."

Naruto snorted and replied.

"Just because I don't have my wand doesn't mean I'm someone you can look down on, as far as I figure I can handle things well enough on my own."

"Use those charms you have, sure….some fighter you are."

"How many times do I have to say it? I don't need to use magic all the time, besides, most of the moves I use were taught to me in my younger days, and the Rasengan does not use magic. Anyway, Ila's already gotten supplies as well as some spare gear ready so I can leave at any time. I just came here to give you the offer if you want it…"

"Which we don't thank you very much Naruto."

Naruto shrugged.

"Have it your way Melissa, but I rather doubt Head Priestess Jenny would like the idea of you shrinking from your duties as a Priestess of Mylee."

Melissa gasped at that, she couldn't help but be angered and dismayed, she had just been blackmailed by her champion!! How cruel and ungentlemanly this man was!!! Why must he be her champion?!

(THIS IS AGAINST MY WILL!!!!)

"You're blackmailing Melissa?! How dare you?!"

Genie replied as she tried to get up but Naruto took out a kunai and held it at the ready, he looked at Genie and replied.

"I did no such thing, I had already told Carwess-sensei and Head Priestess Jenny that I was going to the Forest when I got back, so that naturally would make Head Priestess Jenny very curious as to why I am going on alone, I told her already that going alone was all right by me and none of you had to get involved, but she reminded me that I am Melissa's champion so I have to go with her. But that works both ways doesn't it? If I am going somewhere then she has to come along as it was required by the law of the Church of Mylee."

Melissa was stopped cold by that, he did have a point there, as her champion, Naruto had to go with her whenever they would go out on adventures and missions for the Church of Mylee, but it worked the same way, wherever Naruto would go, she would have to come along with him as part of her duties as a Priestess of Mylee, to do otherwise was considered the greatest sin any Priestess of her Order could ever do and she would be stripped of her rank as well as her place as a member of the Church of Mylee.

She had no idea what to do at this moment and Naruto replied.

"Look, you don't like and neither do I Melissa, but sometimes we have to do things that we find distasteful even of they are needed."

Genie snorted and replied.

"Like you're one to talk….being the favored student of the head of the Guild must really get you to places."

Naruto looked at Genie with a very calm but annoyed eye and replied.

"I don't use the fact that Carwess-sensei treats me as a favored student to get ahead in being a mage, everything I've learned in magic I learned on my own, besides that…as a shinobi, I was asked to do things that even I found distasteful at times so I know what it's like to do things you don't want to be have to do it anyway."

Merrill then spoke.

"You've called yourself a shinobi before so just what is that supposed to mean anyway?"

"You sure you want to know?"

"Yeah I do, you said back in the cave when we fought those Goblins that it was time to quit being a mage and become a Shinobi, so what is it exactly anyhow, some joke name you guys use in the Guild?"

Genie gave a light smirk as she sat down to hear this and Melissa was curious as well. Naruto knew that he was going to have to say it anyway so he sighed and spoke to them in a very serious tone.

"Shinobi means male ninja and before you ask, ninja is the term for Shadow Warriors, where I come from, ninjas form the army of our village. We do a lot of missions that we are hired for by higher level people as well as take on assignments handed to us by our leaders in the village."

Merrill and the others looked on and Merrill laughed a bit.

"You….a warrior?! You fight with your fists! You're no warrior!"

Genie nodded and she spoke.

"I agree, a real warrior uses weapons in combat."

Naruto laughed at that and replied.

"Then you don't know just what ninja are capable of in combat, to be honest we use other weapons as well, the kunai and shuriken I use are part of our arsenals, the kunai is a ver useful weapon, in most cases it can be disguised as a farming or gardening tool until we use it in combat and if you recall the wounds I gave those Goblins it can make seriously deadly wounds on foes if used for throwing or striking. The hand to hand combat we use is called Taijutsu….every ninja I know uses them in combat."

Naruto then smiled and spoke of a pair of ninja he knew well.

"I mentioned Neji before if I recall, he uses a style called gentle Fist which is a Taijutsu style and it can kill a man without any problems as well as his partner lee who can punch and kick hard enough to make stone cave in."

Genie snorted and replied.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Me too….if I can't see these two guys in action I won't believe it at all."

Melissa then spo9ke to the others.

"I agree with Merrill and Genie, until we see them in action, we can't really be convinced."

Naruto shrugged at that and replied.

"I thought as much, but what I say is the truth, besides that, I learned some moves from Lee and his sensei Gai, and I used them in the battle with those Goblins so I know that they can fight very seriously when the need comes to it, Gai is the strongest master of Taijutsu in our village despite his…rather unique antics."

Merrill then spoke.

"You guys take missions, so ninjas are like mercenaries?"

"You might say that, we are an official army but we take assignments from allied or neutral parties."

"What sort of jobs do you do?"

"That depends on the requirements and the type of mission, some missions are handed to lower ranking ninja, other missions are to mid ranked ninja such as escort missions and involves combat to a degree, as well as dealing with deadly animals and creating out booby traps, higher missions can include escorting high ranking or key personnel, gathering information on other nations, as well as disposing of enemy ninja, the second highest missions involve open warfare as well as vital missions for nations, escorting high ranking VIPs, and battle maneuvers against opposing forces. Those missions are ranked from D to A, the highest are S ranked missions those can be escorting or protecting vital documents and information and assassination of key personnel. The higher the risk the higher the payment…"

Melissa blanched as she heard one word in particular….

"Wait a minute….did you just say that you…assassinate people for money?!"

Naruto nodded at that. That was part of the job of being a ninja, and there had been missions taken by other ninja of that requirement, he had no doubt in his mind that even his Jonin friend Neji had been given that before, and Kakashi had taken those missions as well. Even his dad Minato had taken them so he was used to that aspect of being a ninja.

"Ninjas work as spies, soldiers, guards, and assassins. It's what we do. Is there a problem with that?"

Melissa was shocked and stood up and slammed her hands on the table and shrieked in horror.

"You're an ASSASSIN?! YOU'RE A MURDERER?!"

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To be continued…

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Author's notes:

Well, the cat's out of the bag, now that Melissa knows just what a ninja is, how will she react?

This chapter took me a while since I have to watch Rune Soldier all over from beginning to end so I can have a more precise idea on how to make this story a lot more effective. But how will Melissa react at the knowledge that her champion is an assassin?

Find out on the next chapter!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Rune Soldier Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Naruto or Rune Soldier Louie, so don't ask if I do.

Chapter 4

Forest of Demons

( ): Thoughts

((" ")): Kyuubi's voice

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In the tavern…

Naruto looked at the incredulous Priestess and knew that this was the normal reaction, from what he knew of his time in this world, assassins were not exactly the most favored or well respected people in the world.

"Hey, there's a fine line between assassin and murderer Melissa and I haven't crossed that line yet."

Melissa was still in a very shocked state and she spoke out in fury.

"How can you say that?! You just said that ninjas assassinate people for money, that's just immoral, and….and barbaric!!!"

"Excuse me?"

Melissa replied to that with a very serious tone, she had heard all the cruel things assassins did and read them in books and the thought of her champion actually being an assassin who killed people for money was something that totally horrified her.

"The thought of people murdering people for money is just so barbaric! I can't believe your people, these ninjas would be so cruel and inhuman!"

That was enough to get Naruto angry at the way Melissa described ninjas. Naruto had tried his best to change the system of the ninja world where there would be understanding as well as unity, peace, and trust so there would no longer be people like Pain as well as Madara. His father Minato had faith in him as well as Jiraiya, and his late sensei Kakashi told him he would be able to surpass his own father. the praise he got as well as all the times he had been with ninjas not just of his own village but others had taught him much. He knew that changing the current ninja system was not going to be easy, nor was it going to be quick, but he was not going to let his father down or Jiraiya, as well as the people who have been very important to him.

He had his own way of the ninja, he was a ninja who would never give up his emotions, he would never use his abilities for his own desires, he would use his abilities to defend those close to him, and most of all to make sure that there would be peace and understanding in the world… and to have someone who knew next to nothing about his world insult ninjas and call them inhuman, and barbaric was insulting. There were ninjas in his world who were barbaric, cruel, and blood thirsty, but there were ninjas who fought them and gave their lives to beat them, such as Asuma, Jiraiya, Kakashi and many more and to have someone blatantly insult all ninjas was a very strong

"You've got some guts saying ninjas are barbarians Melissa, I'm the only ninja you've met and you're already insulting us in general?!"

"But you're people kill others for money!!!"

"In case it escaped your attention, I said that the only time we resort to assassination is when there is NO other option or if a war breaks out. Here's the difference between an assassin and a murderer for you to get the difference. An assassin kills for a mission as well as a purpose, a murderer just kills for the fun of it."

Melissa spoke back.

"Don't try to justify it!!! Murder is still murder!!!"

"And you think war isn't murder on a grand scale? You think armies moving about in battlefields or knights slaughtering each other in combat aren't committing murder already? I read the history books in the Guild and I don't see why you can just insult others because of our occupation. Besides, your realms have assassins too so what makes ninjas like myself barbarians?"

"It's still wrong to take a human life!!!"

Naruto had to agree to that at some degree, but he had grown up a lot ever since being a Genin back in Konoha, he had faced many people over the years as well as faced many obstacles in his life as a ninja. He however was ready to defend the efforts of all the ninjas who he knew were good people such as Tsunade, Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, Lee and all those who had been friends all those years, including Gaara when he defeated the Suna ninja and his fellow Jinchuuriki who was now the current Kazekage of Suna.

"And what about people who are corrupt and in positions of power Melissa? What happens when they can be too powerful and too dangerous to face with an army and they can evade justice? That with their money and their power they can flaunt the law and do what they want? Tell me, how do you propose to deal with people like them?"

Melissa was silent as Genie and Merrill looked on, they had never seen Naruto like this, they thought he was angry before, but now this was unexpected to say the least. Both of them were also surprised at the fact that Naruto was an assassin or trained to be one though they still didn't believe that he could ever be a warrior with his reliance on fighting with his hands or this stuff he called Taijutsu.

Naruto was far from done with his words, his anger at Melissa's words was not going to go away just like that.

"You think all ninjas are barbarians because we assassinate people?! You know nothing about us, you have no idea about ninjas since you were never born into our culture and our traditions and you have the audacity to insult and berate ninjas all because we do assassinate people as a last resort?! I was under the impression that Mylee taught many things to it's Priestesses in order to deal with their roles in the outside world. You know nothing about us and you just judge us right off the bat?! I never knew that a Priestess like you can be so dense as well as thick headed. You disappoint me Melissa, you think the real world is the same as is shown in story books? It's not, there are very harsh truths in the world Melissa and until you learn to open your mind to the reality of certain things as well as learn to understand before you comment on something, then I don't want to see your face at all!"

With that, Naruto turned and stormed off, and as he grabbed the door of the tavern, he closed it with a resounding smash….leaving everyone in the tavern flabbergasted as well as tense as the silence was deafening after the ninja/mage left in a very foul mood.

--------

In the Temple of Mylee…

"Miss Jenny I must protest to this idea of having Naruto as my champion!"

"Oh, and what is this time Melissa?"

"I just found out that Naruto is an assassin!!! He's a person who kills people for money!!! I can't have him recognized as my hero!!!"

"I see….I guess it was going to come out eventually."

Melissa was surprised at how casually Jenny was taking the news that Naruto was an assassin and she couldn't help but ask the Head Priestess of her order how she could be so relaxed about this.

"Miss Jenny…"

"On the other hand I just had a discussion with Naruto who came here earlier, and I can tell that he was very irate. What exactly did you say to him to make him that angry Melissa?"

"I said that assassinating people is wrong!!! It's cruel, inhuman, and barbaric!!!"

"I see….but let me ask you something Melissa, have you ever met other people like Naruto who are ninjas like him?"

Melissa stopped and reluctantly shook her head and spoke.

"No I haven't…"

"Yet you judged all people like him as barbarians? That is a very harsh description Melissa."

"But he said they assassinate people for money?! How can that not be barbaric?"

"I admit that it is cruel to take another person's life for money, but have you seen Naruto take a person's life before Melissa? Have you ever seen him kill in cold blood before ever since you met him?"

"No…"

"So how can you say that he is and his people are barbarians? Melissa, Naruto told me a great deal about himself when I first met him, and like you, I was appalled by the fact that he was trained to take another person's life for money, but he told me that he has never taken an innocent life in cold blood in his entire life and the people who he had fought with have committed very grievous crimes that merited them being dealt with. He told me of a corrupt businessman who nearly drove a country to it's knees as well as breaking the spirit of the people who resided in it, he and his group were responsible for it's recovery and eventual prosperity. Besides that, you must keep in mind that Naruto is not from around here, and grew up differently from you and I, because of that, we have no right to quickly pass judgment on them. Naruto carries a great deal of burdens being a ninja, however he is different."

Melissa looked at Jenny and waited for her superior in the Church of Mylee to continue.

"Naruto would never let any harm come to those he cares deeply about and would risk his life to save those dear to him. If they are truly in danger of death that is the only time Naruto will be ready and willing to take the life of his foe. That much was what Naruto has told me, and I can tell that he did not lie about that fact. Because he would not take a life without reason, he is different from a murderer as he said to you, a murderer takes life without hesitation or reason, Naruto has reason to take a foe's life if he is forced to it, besides, he has never taken the role of assassin when he left the Guild, and considering his abilities before and his use of magic after leaving the Guild he would make a deadly assassin if he chose to do so. Melissa I want to ask you this question, you would do anything to protect your friends and those under your charge am I right?"

"Of course I would Miss Jenny! I am a Priestess of Mylee and doing anything less is a mistake."

"But if you had no choice but to take a human life to save them, would you do it?"

Melissa was surprised by this question and she looked down, lost in the idea of how to answer her superior's question. Jenny knew that this was a very serious thing and no doubt Melissa would be very hard pressed to answer that question and she knew that Naruto no doubt faced that situation more times than anyone in the Order of Mylee ever did, except her, in her own youth, there had been times that she struggled with the same situation when she too was a Priestess like Melissa. She looked at Melissa who was still struggling with the question that she had placed before her, and waited a bit more for Melissa's response and soon enough she did answer.

"It's not easy for me to answer that question Miss Jenny, I mean, if I have to fight monsters I would fight without any problems, but the idea of taking a human life is…"

"Hard to fathom and grasp, but it is something that happens at times and it will be hard to deal with if we are forced to take that path. Melissa. It is not something that is easy to do, yet we must be ready for that path when it is the only option that we have to deal with, I had the same problems when I was your age as well as being a novice Priestess of Mylee as well, do you remember when I said to you when you found out that Naruto is your champion by the will of Mylee?"

Melissa nodded.

"I have to know my champion more, that is what you said Miss Jenny."

"Correct Melissa, you have to take the time and effort to know just what sort of person Naruto really is in order for you to see just why he is chosen as your champion, As you already know, Mylee chose him to be your champion and Mylee's ways are hard to fathom even by the highest of our order though we serve him. I have already apologized on your behalf to Naruto and he has accepted it for now….but he is still very angry at your words."

--------

In his room…

"Damn that woman!!!!"

Naruto was pacing back and forth while twirling a kunai in his hand through the loop there on the back of the handle as he tried to cool his temper. He paced back and forth a bit more until he sat down and decided to think over the events that happened. The blonde ninja/mage wished that he didn't have this kind of problem, but now that he was in it, he would have to deal with it.

He didn't really blame Melissa for the reaction to the fact that he was trained as an assassin, he had studied enough books in this world to know that assassins were not exactly the most loved bunch in the world he was in, they were treated with contempt and outright hatred and fear. However he was not like them and neither were the ninjas of his world, there were many ninjas who were loyal to their villages while even those who were missing nin had their own reasons for leaving. Most missing nin were criminals and had done great damage to the world, namely the members of Akatsuki, except Itachi after he found out about the truth surrounding the event known as the Uchiha Clan Massacre as well as the part that three Konoha Elders had in it all in the past.

All in all, there were good ninjas and evil ninjas, and they did the same things, only difference was that those ninjas who assassinated in the name of their village who were good did it because they knew that what they were doing was the only course of action….while evil ninjas like some he had met personally did it for their own reasons as well as desires, he still could never forgive Orochimaru for the extent of his crimes, including kidnapping, torturing, murdering, experimenting and manipulating so many people, the murder of the Third Hokage who was like a grandfather to him, as well as corrupting eventually twisting Sasuke into what he was, forcing him to defeat his former friend and eventually exiling the last of the Uchiha after he had dealt with Madara who further twisted Sasuke to his own ends.

Those were the kinds of people he would willingly kill to prevent them from ever harming the world he lived in, that much Naruto had learned to accept, he however knew that not all rogue ninjas were evil, some like Zabuza who despite treating Haku like a tool came to see the young man as his own son, while Guren who was once brutal and blood thirsty came to care for Yukimaru like a son as well and was no doubt helping him grow up and find a place for himself. There were others like them as well who he knew of and of course they were all different in nature as well as motivation.

As he sat on his bed, he thought over all that happened in his life ever since he became a Genin after his defeat of Madara as well as Sasuke, the village had treated him much better than before and many ninja in the village consider him the best of what Konoha could be, a far cry from when he was still seen as back in the day. He was so deep in through that he was not aware that someone was at his door and had entered his room.

"hey Naruto…..you all right?"

Naruto turned to see Ila who was looking at him with great concern and he relaxed himself as he spoke to his mage friend.

"Yeah….I'm fine…"

"No you're not Naruto, I can tell you are in a foul mood, does it have something to do with your team mates?"

Naruto growled a bit as he placed aside the kunai and managed to calm himself a bit and speak his mind, while he was always smiling, even when things were becoming bad, but this was not one of those times as he looked at Ila.

"It's a long story Ila…"

"Why don't you tell me anyway?"

"Well….I have to be honest with you Ila, The techniques I used when I saved you and in my time here in the Guild, those are techniques taught to me by…"

"By ninjas and you are a ninja right?"

Naruto was quite surprised by this, as far as he knew, he had never told Ila about his being a ninja, so how did she manage to learn about his true occupation as well as what he and many others like him were trained in doing.

"How did you know about my being a ninja?"

Ila smiled a bit and replied.

"Master Carwess told me the day after you left the Guild. He called me over and told me everything about you….though I have to admit that there were some things he didn't tell me about you, I was curious about those two but he insisted that I don't try and find out as those are secrets that are best left unlearned."

(Man…)

Naruto had no idea that Ila had actually known about his status as a ninja and he looked at her as he asked her the question that he knew was of great importance to him.

"It doesn't bother you that I'm trained to be an assassin?"

Ila shook her head and replied.

"It doesn't bother me, but I have my reasons, you certainly are too nice and gentle as a young man to take life without reason and you have always stood up for me when you dealt with Garret and Hayden, and call it women's intuition or just plain trust, but you were no murderer in my eyes, so why should I be bothered about you being ninja?"

Naruto couldn't help but grin a bit at this, and that grin turned into a full blown smile as he reflexively hugged Ila, much to Ila's delight as she reached and hugged him back, she never expected this kind of reaction from her long time friend but it did her heart good that she was able to cheer him up easily, and this was the first time she was able to get this close to him and the fact that she could feel his well formed and chiseled body was an extra bonus that she was very happy for.

Naruto was able to recover however and he realized that he was hugging Ila, while Ila was not Sakura who would sometimes react to his affections with a slight tap on the head with her strength, he knew that he was getting too close and gently began to part away from the buxom and well formed red haired female mage. He didn't want to let his hormones get the better of him, while he could have locked the door and did the deed, he was still very much faithful to Sakura as well as Hinata, plus there was a chance that someone in the Guild would walk in and undo the lock on his door with an unlocking spell and the last thing he wanted was to be caught in a very compromising situation with Ila

"Thanks a great deal for the support Ila."

"Not a problem Naruto, but I want to ask something, are you still intent on going to the Tarsius Forest?"

"Yeah, I don't have a choice at all if I need a wand. And I guess that no matter what, I will have to be accompanied by Melissa and the group."

"I had a feeling that was the case, so tell me what happened. Between you and her that got you so worked up."

Naruto told Ila everything and Ila was not very happy with the way Melissa reacted, sure assassins were not the most popular people in their world, but to quickly say that Naruto's people were barbarians was going a little too far in her mind, as an academic she had been able to understand that some other countries had other ways of seeing things and just judging an entire people like that was considered to be narrow minded.

"I can't believe she said that about your people Naruto! That's just plain cruel…"

"I know, but to be honest with you, there have been ninjas in my home land who were really barbaric, so I can't REALLY fault Melissa's reaction to it, but there are just as many good ninjas who gave their lives to stop ninjas like them and it made me angry since she thought ALL ninjas were barbarians, since it felt like she was insulting even those ninjas who made a very good difference in the land I was born in."

Ila nodded and then decided to venture a very personal question.

"Naruto….I know I never asked this before, but if you're a ninja, then were your parents ninja too?"

Naruto nodded, while he was very proud of the fact that his father was the Fourth Hokage and Konoha's Yellow Flash, as well as learning more of his mother, he was also aware that the reason why he was never told of his parentage was the fact that if the former enemies of his father Minato ever learned that he was Minato's son, they would come after him. In honor of that, and his making peace with his father and learning about his family, he decided to keep his parentage a secret, and he would never take the risk of revealing it….even to Sakura, Hinata and in extension, Ila as well.

"My father and mother were both ninja, but they were heroes for fighting in very bloody wars, but they…died when I was still a baby so I never really knew them."

Ila gave her friend a sad and understanding look and she replied.

"But I think that they would be proud of you."

"Thanks, now I think I need to get some rest Ila, I need to relax a bit more before I meet Melissa and the others again before I head off to the Tarsuis Forest, and thanks for you and your father for getting supplies ready."

Ila grinned and replied.

"Not a problem Naruto, the supplies are already waiting for you in one of the shops in the Market district who's owner is a friend of my father, just drop by there and tell them your name and they'll give you the supplies I saved for the trip."

Naruto grinned and went to sleep. It was then that he decided to do something first, he wanted to see just how things would go between him, Melissa, genie, and Merrill if he did something that could ease the tension between them so working with them would be a bit more bearable.

--------

Three days later at Genie's home…

Genie was currently training in front of her house and as she managed to get some decent exercise for the day she wondered about the idea of going with Naruto to the Tarsius Forest, while she could say no as she was not a Priestess of Mylee, the fact that Melissa was her friend and they had been in too many adventures together while Merrill was something of a good friend in her own right.

Speaking of whom, the young thief arrived and so did Melissa who was still deep in thought as Genie placed aside her sword, the supplies they still had from the previous adventure or rather the wasteful one they had with Naruto, as they sat down, Genie spoke to Melissa.

"How did it go with Head Priestess Jenny?"

Melissa sighed and replied.

"Not so good, she said that I have to continue working with Naruto and also try to see him for who he really is."

Merrill replied.

"I still think that he's a loud mouth Melissa, but at least he's got the guts to stand up for himself, he's certainly not like any mage I know of and if he is really serious about being this ninja, this could be fun to see, I'd like to see if he can really back up his words."

Melissa nodded but she was still very unhappy with the fact that her champion was trained as an assassin, she had always dreamed of having a gallant, handsome, strong, and brave knight to be her champion, to be the epitome of her ideal champion since she had been a young girl, instead, she got a perverted, antagonizing, and very odd man who was a mage and who was also trained as an assassin. The idea of a Priestess of Mylee having an assassin as a champion was still very much unheard of and it still filled her with a great deal of unease and worry, for her reputation and her own well being. Melissa however decided to at least try and understand Naruto more, she had to admit that Mylee must have some reason for Naruto being chosen as her champion.

Speaking of whom, a certain blonde ninja was walking by and carrying a slightly larger pouch on his back, the bag was a gift given to him by Ila which was a magical pouch that could store vast amounts of items and he used it to carry a large number of his kunai and shuriken as well as several more spare weapon and storage scrolls, plus some spare clothes and bandages, he also carried the remains of his old wand, he had decided that while these would no longer be useful, he might find another use for them in the near future, if there was one thing he learned well, it was never throw away anything that could be useful still, the stuff might not be useful in channeling magical energy anymore but it was not the end for it anyway.

As he arrived he looked at Melissa sternly and crossed his arms and spoke to the Priestess.

"I had a chat with Head Priestess Jenny about your actions last time and she apologized for you Melissa, so just for now, I'm burying my anger towards your words, but don't think for a minute that I have forgotten what you said about my people."

"I just said what I felt and knew was right Naruto."

"That's your perception then, so let's leave it at that, if any of you have anything to do still then get it done soon, we leave soon enough."

Genie then replied.

"You're not in charge of us Naruto."

"No I'm not but since I have to go and Melissa is required by her Order and by Mylee to come with me so at this moment, that somewhat puts me in the lead at this time."

Merrill snorted and replied.

"Don't expect us to trust you when you lead the way Naruto."

Naruto shrugged and replied.

"I don't. So let's quit talking and get moving shall we? I already got the supplies I need as well as the supplies that were left over for the trip for you three so the sooner we get going then even entire better for all involved."

--------

In one of the wild areas ahead of the Tarsuis Forest…

As the group made their way into the village, they encountered a small but well armed band of demon like beasts and those were seen to be Goblins as well as Trolls. Naruto and the others quickly went to work on fighting them, he had no idea what these creatures were doing this far out from where they had to go, but he was not planning to worry about for long. He took out his kunai and closed the gap with the first demon and quickly evaded the attacks and landed a powerful kick to the side of the head and then leaped over the creature as he took out yet another kunai and landed on the ground just as another demonic creature, raised his weapons to block the attack and then fight with his Taijutsu training.. Melissa used her war hammer while Merrill used her daggers and throwing knives while Genie used her sword to even things up with the monsters. The fight was not very long as the group worked well enough on their own while Melissa observed Naruto using his Taijutsu skills as well as he underhanded tactics in combat.

She still didn't like the fact that she had him as her champion, with his attitudes, his way of combat, ungentlemanly tactics, as well as the fact that he was an assassin, however she kept in mind the words that Jenny had told her about trying to find out more about Naruto, but what was there to find in him anyway? He seemed to have no other secrets as well for her to take a keen interest in, however she recalled that Mylee must have had a reason for having him as her champion and since she didn't want to displease Mylee

As the group mopped up the area, Naruto and the others moved on, but only for a bit more when they all stopped at a nearby clearing to rest.

Merrill sighed and spoke.

"Are we coming closer to the Forest?"

Naruto shook his head and replied.

"According to the map, we're still at least three days away from the Forest, plus there is a town at least a day to the other side."

Melissa then spoke.

"We could rest there for a while before moving on."

Naruto took out the maps once more and quickly looked them over and replied.

"Not a bad idea Melissa, but I don't recommend moving at this time, it's already midday and there's no telling what other creatures might be out at night, those demonic trolls and goblins worry me."

Merrill sneered and asked.

"Afraid of them? That's not like you Naruto, I thought ninjas were warriors of the shadows?"

Genie asked the same question as well, though in a different format.

"After how I've seen you fight, it isn't like you to be worried by a pocket of demons, why are you concerned for them anyway? Is it because you can't use those magical attacks on them?"

Naruto shook his head and replied in a very serious fashion.

"The Kage Bushin No Jutsu and the Rasengan do not use any form of magic, and no I am not afraid of the monsters… the reason I'm worried is the fact that those creatures attacked us in broad daylight. Goblins are understandable already since they don't care much for sunlight…but Trolls are not supposed to be out at day time, that usually is sleeping time for them, they normally move out in late afternoon and night time since they hunt better at night, not to mention the fact they attacked us out in the open, Trolls are supposed to be ambush creatures, so for them to leave the forests they live and hunt in means something out of place is going on here, and if there's one thing my ninja sensei Kakashi taught me, it is that something out of the ordinary usually means two things, either something is about to happen, or we're walking into a trap, and neither of them sound the least bit pleasant to me."

The three women had to admit though not openly that Naruto had a point, trolls never travel this far out from their lands so something or someone must be up to something. It was then that the blonde ninja stood up and looked into the forest, intent on something and before the women could react, he then rushed into the forest.

Genie and the others looked on and were surprised at this and Genie shouted.

"Hold it!!"

"Where is he going now?!"

Naruto took out a kunai and quickly moved through the forest as he tracked his target, which turned out to be a wild boar, and a fairly large one at that, the blonde ninja knew this could be a good break but he was careful either way, while he was not above killing animals for food he knew the wild boar he was hunting would not hesitate to gore the holy hell out of him, the thing was massive and if there was one thing he knew for a fact, wild boar would be very hostile towards anything that they could see was a threat to their lands. There was a chance the creature might have attacked them as well so no need to ignore it and let it have it's way.

As he moved through he spotted the creature….or rather it spotted him, he cursed the wild animal's good senses and got ready for a fight as the boar charged at him, he flipped back as the boar tore through the foliage and he quickly fires his kunai right at the beast, wounding it and he evaded it once more and then used the same technique he had used on both Merrill and Genie when they had fought him on the roof of the Temple. The boar gave a loud cry as it smashed head first into a boulder and Naruto quickly threw three shuriken to finally kill the creature as it gave a massive cry and died right there and then.

As the blonde used a pair of his Kage Bushin to haul this boar to the clearing, he looked to see Genie, Merrill, and Melissa looking at him with surprise as well as confusion. However when they spotted the boar with the wounds on it, they were able to guess just what the blonde ninja/mage had gone after.

"How did you get this boar?"

"It just showed up in front of me and raised it's front hooves and said I give up."

The women looked at him in a very confused way and he replied.

"Geez, no sense of humor you three….anyway, this can be great for a good meal, however I'm not going to be lugging this thing all the way through the path for the rest of the trip, plus the tusks, organs, fat, oils, and hide will be very useful once it's sold to the right people who can put the stuff to good use, so this means a good old fashion skinning and craving run."

Naruto looked at Genie, Melissa and Merrill and replied as he got his razor sharp kunai ready to go to work.

"Unless you three are squeamish I suggest you look away, and don't bother me while I do this."

The very second he plunged his kunai into the dead boar's body, the others looked away while Melissa couldn't help but feel somewhat sickened as she heard Naruto begin to cut the wild boar apart. She had never seen it done before in her life as she had gotten used to having meat prepared and cooked before she ate it.

Merrill and Genie however did their best to do what they could to set up camp with the supplies that they had with them; Naruto had opened the supplies which he had stored in the scrolls he had on hand and they decided to get some time off, the two women were still not very trusting of Naruto but they were not in the mood to get into a shouting match with him as he was focused on getting the food ready. The tea set that Melissa had was left in the Church of Mylee under the care of the Priestesses who were close to Melissa as well as the other things she left behind as a compromise to having Naruto along.

Melissa looked back and saw the mess and wished that Naruto had not decided to butcher the thing right in front of her.

As soon as he was done cutting up the meat as well as making sure they were still moist but not dripping blood and the like, Naruto divided the portions and took out another set of scrolls and then placed the meat on the scrolls and placed them away for storage, he then did the same thing with the organs, hide, tusks, fat, and oils as well as he stored the oils in bottles that he had with him. With that out of the way, he reached into another storage scroll and made the release command.

Later at night…

The smell of roasting meat filled the air in the camp as all four of them were currently resting as the large portions of meat were being cooked nicely, the contents of Naruto's scroll were actually some flavoring liquids and herbs that he kept on hand for this kind of cook out, in his travels to look for magical artifacts, he used to make sure that he kept most of his supplies in good order and when food was getting scarce, he had to hunt and forage, he made trial and error runs and some of the results were not very pleasant, but he got used to it and developed some much needed skills in survival, plus the fact the Pervy Sage and him were always on the move and staying only in towns to get the latest news and supplies, he had learned enough to love being out in the wild.

As the roast was coming along very nicely, he turned to the three and spoke.

"All right, this meat's about done so time to dig in!"

As they ate the food, Naruto decided to get as much of the meat as he could as well as eating some of the store of fruit that he had in one of the scrolls, as he ate the food, he noted the Melissa was picking at her plate at the meat and he looked at her with a very curious eye.

"What's the problem Melissa?"

The Priestess looked at him and replied.

"You….You didn't have to do that in front of me you know."

"Do wha….oh, you mean that right? Look, I did say you didn't have to look when you didn't want to, besides, it's going to look plain silly if I haul that boar on my back and placing that animal on a scroll isn't the least bit easy you know. Besides, the rest of the meat, plus the hide, tusks, and fat can be sold for some extra coins in the village."

Melissa had to admit that Naruto had a point, hauling the boar around all day could have looked plain odd not to mention that the meat could go bad if he was not able to store it away. Genie and Merrill were digging and they too had to agree to some of Naruto's words though ever out loud at the moment. Naruto and the others had camped near a ring of high rocks to help preserve the heat of the fire as well as offer some measure of protection from anything out there.

As soon as they were finished eating as much as they could manage, with the women marveling at the potbelly Naruto had on him, Naruto gathered a good portion of the remaining food and quickly dispatched it with a Kage Bushin to the far side of the camp. He also made sure to clean up the place and erase any sign of the food that was cooked there by placing special herbs into the fire to create a smoke that smelled clean and clear and without the smell of cooked meat.

This was to make sure that any predators would steer clear of the camp and with the portions of cooked meat that were taken away, their attention would be elsewhere, plus with the hidden meat in scrolls, the predators would not smell them. It was a very hard thing to do at this moment, but it was better than doing nothing in his mind to keep the others from being eaten.

--------

In the village…

"My….this is high quality boar meat you have my friend, we haven't had meat like this in a while, not to mention the organs are in good order. I'm willing to pay three hundred coins for this meat, is that all right with you?"

Naruto nodded as he handed the meat to the butcher who was quick to count out a large bundle of coins to pay for the meat that he and the others had brought to the village, while he was interested in getting a new wand, he decided to sell the meat that was left over as there were still plenty of supplies left and lugging around meat even if it was in storage scrolls was not something he found to be very appealing to him. Plus the hides, organs, fat, tusks and oils could be sold off. After they had awakened, they eat the food left over from last night and left to the direction of the village and the others waited for him outside of the village.

As the money was given to him, the butcher spoke.

"Say, you guys ran into any Trolls or Goblins?"

Naruto was curious about the question and spoke.

"Why so curious?"

"Well, I've been getting rumors that a pair of mages was seen going through here, heading off to the Tarsuis Forest if you can believe that! Now I know mages can be all right with their magic and all, but that forest is haunted and all manner of demonic creatures call that place home, not mention the fact that no hunter ever goes that close. But you know….ever since those mages showed up, the Goblins and Trolls have been a lot more active lately, I hate to say it, but I think those mages are up to no good."

This got Naruto's attention right off the bat, if a pair of mages were responsible for the Trolls and Goblins moving about more actively, that meant that they were causing trouble and since these two were in the Tarsuis Forest, that meant that they were no doubt trying to get to the oak trees the same way he was. He nodded and replied.

"We'll be careful."

"You better be son, and good luck on where it is you're going."

Naruto left the butcher shop and sold off the rest of the items, the organs could be used for cooking as well as making other necessities ,the boar's fat could be melted down for fuel or even to make soap as well as for lard, while the oils could be sued for cooking, and the tusks can be used for carvings, plus the hide could be used for leather and the like, as soon as he was paid with a good sum of gold coins with that out of the way, he met with the others and told them what he heard and Melissa spoke.

"Two mages? There in the Tarsuis Forest ahead of us? That doesn't sound very promising, could they be after the oak trees too?"

"That's a big possibility, since mages like myself and them need the wood for our wands, the one thing that worries me is the rise of monster activity because of them, I get the feeling the very second we go in there, we're going to be walking into trouble."

Merrill groaned and replied.

"Man….this mission is turning bad…"

Naruto looked at Merrill and replied.

"You didn't have to come along you know. I made that very clear six days ago back in the tavern."

Merrill looked back and replied.

"And leave Melissa alone with you? No way, you might have done that perverted incident by accident or so you say, but I am not going to let Melissa be alone with you, cause who knows what's floating about in that head of yours."

"Hey!"

Naruto was somewhat offended but he had to admit that his perverted side was getting to him again, being stuck with an all female group had a tendency to do that a guy and despite the fact that he was not very happy working with them, the fact that they were not bad looking to the eyes was a bit of a distraction. Even Genie in her getup was somewhat distracting to the blonde Sannin. The fact that they Kyuubi was also fueling his perverted tendencies when the mood suited it wasn't helping matters either. Naruto shook his head and replied at the comment as soon as he got his thoughts back into the proper working order.

"Never mind that, here's the gold I got selling the meat, tusks, hide, organs, fat and oils."

The money was numbering at least four hundred golden coins and Naruto divided them to a hundred each, Merrill was about to argue but Naruto gave a glare at her and spoke seriously.

"Look, I killed the creature, plus I have to carve it up and cook a good portion of it for dinner as well as breakfast and this is all the money gained by selling with we can't carry so get used to it."

Merrill decided not to argue and they made their way to the Tarsuis Forest with a pair of Naruto's Kage Bushin going ahead for recon work, Naruto, having learned the origin of the Kage Bushin decided to use it to his advantage and it proved to be very effective in the long run as they were able to move into the forest and soon enough the group arrived. Naruto whistled as he saw the threes before him and then he tried to use his Senjutsu training to get a feel of the place.

As soon as he did so, the power flooding him nearly forced him to take some of the original characteristics of frogs, reminding him of his time training in the Senjutsu arts with the Toad Summons back on Mount Myoubokuzan. Thankfully he was able to control his gathering of Nature Chakra and felt the energy in this place….it was immense, and the trees were old….very old indeed, while he was no expert in labeling age, the sheer power he felt in this place was immense and it made sense that the oak trees here would be used for making wands.

As he relaxed a bit and felt his body return to normal, Merrill spoke to him.

"So where is this 500 year old oak tree we're looking for?"

"We don't need to look anywhere; these trees are already bristling with power, so all we need is a branch from one of them…."

"Great, the sooner we can get this over and done with."

As Merrill took out an axe, Naruto was beginning to shift out of Sage Mode when he sensed that there was someone nearby and he quickly shouted to Merrill to hold it. Merrill had no idea why she was being halted by Naruto as he looked in a different direction and spoke.

"Whoever you are, come out of there, I know you're watching us and if you plan on attacking us then come out!"

The three wondered just what was Naruto doing as well as saying since there seemed to be no one there at the moment and they were about to ask him what was going on until Naruto spoke once more.

I can sense your energy and you are hiding in the trees at least a hundred feet to my right, and you are getting ready to cast a Wind spell to spook us so don't bother since I can sense you there."

After a few moments, the group were greeted by a voice.

"Not bad….you've got good senses. All right, I guess I have no choice."

As soon as Naruto spotted the figure coming towards them he quickly recognized the person and grabbed Genie's arm as the swordswoman got ready to attack the new comer. The stranger did the same thing and she spoke.

"It's you!!!"

Naruto gave a grin and waved back.

"Fancy meeting you here, I had a feeling someone was watching us. I should have known it would be an elf or some other creature."

As soon as that happened, Merrill turned to face Naruto and she spoke.

"You know this person?"

"I met her before, but never got her name."

The elf woman nodded and spoke in greeting.

"That's true, but at the time you were not alone, and now that we meet again, I guess introductions are in order, my name is Celecia, and you are?"

Naruto grinned in his usual way and replied.

"I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki!"

--------

Later…

"You know each other?"

Genie asked as the elf named Celecia stood before them, the elf was currently dressed in a simple tunic with a pair of short trousers with a short skirt, as well as wearing a belt with a sword as well as a dagger on the belt. The Elf also wore a pair of bracers as well as soft boots of leather, fairly simple gear from the looks of it but considering the fact she was armed told the swordswoman that things were not as it seemed.

Celecia replied.

"Not formally, I met Naruto when he was training in the forest in those very special moves that had him making a glowing sphere of some sort as well as making copies of himself….very interesting moves since at the time I saw him doing those things, there seemed to be no sign of any magical artifacts on him."

Naruto grinned as the others looked on, confused and wary, the fact that Celecia was an elf was something that worried them, as this was the first time that they had been in this forest and there was a chance that something might go wrong and there was a chance that Celecia could be luring them into a trap.

Celecia spoke then to Naruto.

"You realize that this place is haunted for a reason right?"

"Not exactly, but the fact that you're trying to scare us means that there's more to this forest than it looks, I sensed the power and chakra coming from this place, damn near blinded my senses when I looked about."

"Chakra? What the heck is that?"

Naruto didn't answer the question of Genie as he spoke to Celecia.

"By the way, I heard that a pair of mages were seen heading into this area, do you know them?"

Celecia nodded.

"They came into the forest at least a week ago, and they headed straight for the village and demanded that we leave so they could take over the forest and harvest all the oak, naturally our people were against it and fought them off. You see the trees in this place are the burial markers of our people, as elves, our ties to nature are very strong so when our people pass on, they are buried in the earth with a tree to mark their burial site, and that is why the trees here are filled with magical energy as the spirit of our deceased melds with the spirit world and makes the trees grow strong be infused by the energies of nature."

Naruto gave a shocked reaction and was very pale n the face, he had a dislike for ghosts and the paranormal, the one time that Gekkou Hayate and the Third appeared in his room as ghosts scared the crap out of him and the thought of being haunted by elvish ghosts was not something he was in the mood for.

"So you mean to tell me that your people live in a…."

"Graveyard? I guess so, but it's more than that, the trees here serve as sources for our powers, so much so that if a tree is destroyed our people lose strength and power. That is why my people fought off the mages, they wanted to take the oldest and most powerful trees that my people tend to, we fought them off, but ever since then my village has been under siege by the evil creatures in the forest. Normally these creatures attack in small bands on our village and we are able to stave them off because of our use of shamanism and nature magic, plus our people being skilled hunters and archers."

Genie nodded and spoke seriously.

"That's true, elves are far my memories go, are crack archers as well as woodmen."

"That is true, but these attacks began to grow more intense and occasionally one of the mages would join the raids and cause as much damage as they could, normally we would be able to hold them out but the fact is that they have cut us off from gathering supplies and food, we usually send out a pair of hunters or a hunting party to gather food, but they would be attacked by the forces under the two and with the constant raids, both small and large, my people are running low on food as well as supplies, No matter how many we take out, they just keep coming back for more and many of the elders in our village are getting drained of their magic. The strain is very strong on my people at the moment and with supplies running low, things look grim."

Naruto didn't like the sound of that, this was beginning to remind him of the time he had been t the Land of Waves when Sasuke, himself, and Sakura were younger with Kakashi to escort Tazuna and finding out that the man they were escorting was being hunted by assassins sent by Gato. It was then that he decided to find out just who the mages were.

"Is there anything that you can tell us about these mages Celecia?"

"They appear to be twins and have a very arrogant bearing on them, they used magic without any hesitation, they also seemed to want to throw their weight about on others and the younger one has a very perverse way at looking towards women."

That was enough for Naruto to recognize the antagonists of the village that Celecia brought in. He groaned and gave a serious and annoyed look.

"Garret and Hayden…I should have known it was those two scumbags."

Melissa looked at Naruto and asked the blonde ninja/mage as she could see that the blonde ninja was not in the best of moods.

"You know the mages?"

"Yep, though I wish I never did, the two of them are brothers with Hayden having a very unhealthy obsession with Ila back when they were in the Academy. The two of them have been pains in the neck for me since the two of them have this axe to grind for me and Ila, something to do with the fact that Ila and I were doing very well in the Academy, they even tried to double team me once and even after I trashed them to the ground with an Arcane Restrictor on the idiots still think I cheated when I used my ninja training on them."

"You used your….ninja training on them?"

"Yep, when I got back in the Academy I found out they were kicked out due to trying to practice spells that were supposed to be off limits to mages of their current standing and also stealing from the Guild storehouse and making forbidden potions. Their families tired to free them out of the mess that they were in but the evidence was too much for them to weasel their way out, and they got expelled and had their ranks revoked. Ila was the one who got the evidence to back up everything to make sure that they were never welcomed back in the Guild or anywhere else….now it seems their mercenary mages now."

Celecia knew that the news she got from Naruto was not the least bit pleasing. However she had an idea, if Naruto knew these mages, then he could very well be of help to her people. However she also knew that her people were not very welcoming of humans, she knew a number of humans have died and a good number of the elf elders were not concerned with the loss of humans.

The elf female however knew for a fact that Naruto was no regular mage and recalling his abilities, he could very well be a good aid to fight the mages. The blonde mage had a lot of potential and she had spoken about her findings to the elders, along with some of younger elves and while many of her people considered what she said to be nothing worth thinking about, she still had her interest in learning about the power Naruto described to be chakra.

"You might be able to help us then Naruto….if you can beat these two mages, then it would be a good thing for the village."

Naruto nodded and replied.

"That's true…but I do have the intention of getting a branch from one of the trees here, and if what you said is true, then your people are going to be really angry with me and the others the very second they find out about my need for a branch. And while I'm not antagonizing your people Celecia, I have heard rumors that elves and humans don't exactly get along as it is."

Celecia nodded at that while Melissa and the others had to agree that what they heard was bad enough of two mages causing a considerable ruckus on the elf village would make the elves hostile to humans, but if they took a branch from a tree that was the burial site marker of one of the deceased elves….it would be a disaster waiting to happen.

"I won't lie to you Naruto, you are right, I will however try to plead your case to the elders and convince them to let you help us in the fight with Garret and Hayden, and maybe….no matter how hard it might be to do, I can try to convince them to allow you to take a branch."

Melissa however replied.

"That sounds too good to be true."

Celecia turned and looked at Melissa.

"You doubt that I'm being sincere?"

Genie then spoke.

"It's nothing personal you know, but we can't just accept what you said at face value… you already told us that the trees here are sacred to your people and you are willing to talk to your elders to let Naruto take a branch from one of the trees? Forgive me for finding that hard to believe."

Merrill nodded as well.

"Look, we're not saying that we don't understand why you would ask Naruto's help….though why his help is beyond me, but how can we be so sure that you are not going to lure us into a trap."

Naruto understood their concerns, but he understood more than they let on, after all, Sasame Fuma did the very same thing, to see her cousin, she was willing to bring them to the hidden traps in Orochimaru's lair in Rice Country. He couldn't blame Sasame even if she did lead them into a trap, and besides, he was already aware that they were walking into one and he spoke.

"I understand your desire to save your village Celecia, if I was in your place I would do the same thing….but not in the way you would at this moment."

"What do you mean by that?"

"For one thing Celecia…you can tell your fellow elves to stop hiding, I know they're here in this area closing in and watching us."

Celecia looked at Naruto and saw that he was being serious, her opinion of him grew even more, though she was saddened by the choice before her.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I will do my best to reason with the elders."

It was then that Naruto and the others found themselves surrounded by a large number of elf warriors armed with swords, spears and of course, the regular longbows that elves were known to use. The female adventuring group were naturally shocked, but Naruto expected this, and he didn't resist.

As they were escorted by the elf warriors, the elves were unaware of the fact that there were two other people watching and the two people were dressed in the same fashion that Naruto was wearing, instead of following the group, the Kage Bushin sat down and began to gather Nature chakra.

--------

In the village…

The elf village looked very rustic and utilitarian in build, design and nature; there were lower homesteads as well as tree houses and in one such house, Naruto and the others were being kept in one such house with several windows that allowed a number of armed elves to keep an eye on them. The elves were not very happy with the presence of other humans as night fall began to creep on their village.

However Naruto was very busy looking at the elves, while he was not exactly the smartest ninja in the world, he was very perceptive and observant when something got his interest, and he could tell from the faces and postures of the guards, they were getting sleep deprived as well as getting even hungrier. There was no doubt that the elves were in dire straits at the moment and the sight of several ruined houses told Naruto a great deal of the damage Garret and Hayden caused with their forces on the village.

He felt his anger grow and the Kyuubi spoke to him.

(("Nice to see that you still have not lost your temper kit, I was beginning to wonder when your temper was coming, and I have to admit, those two had finally shown some decent spine….though not enough to be impressive in my book."))

(Shut it Kyuubi, they will no doubt come back.)

((" No doubts there, these elves are exhausted, they lack food and rest, plus from what I can sense, their elders and spell casters are low on power…it won't be long before they fall."))

(Not if I can help it they won't)

((Fair enough kit, but here's hoping that elf babe Celecia can convince the elders to let us go so we can actually do something….though I doubt they will be all that listening to her arguments."))

--------

Sure enough…

"But elders, he came here to help us deal with the two mages who have been attacking our village! We can't just keep him prisoner!"

"How can you be so sure that we can even trust this human Celecia?! For all we know he could very well be a spy for the mages themselves to weaken us from within!!"

"Elder, the new arrivals only came into the Forest a week after the attacks started on our village! How can you say that they are in league with the mages attacking us if they only just arrived?"

"Don't be so sure, maybe the four of them were contracted by those mages to distract us!"

Celecia looked at the assembled elders and wished that there were some of them who were the least bit reasonable about what they were saying about Naruto and his companions.

"I spoke with the mage, the one named Naruto and he told me that the mages attacking out village are known to him…."

"See! He does know them and is no doubt an ally of theirs!"

"No he isn't elder, he said that he despises those two mages and wants to help us deal with them, I can tell that he is very serious about dealing with the two mages and even provided me with their names, Garret and Hayden, apparently the two mages were enemies of his back in his training in the Magic Guild of the human city of Ohfun."

"Are we suggesting that we trust these humans Celecia?"

"Elders, all I am saying is that we have to do this in order to safeguard our village, we can't just turn help down just because the help comes from humans."

"Celecia, we have defended our home from invaders and demons for over eight hundred and fifty years and we have done so without help from humans. Have you forgotten that humans have burned down many lush and healthy groves of trees and hunted excessively to feed their own desires without care for nature?"

Celecia recalled the lessons about humans from when she was still very young, the same age as a normal human child, but she wanted to have Naruto's help to defend her village, there was something about him that told her that she could trust him and if she could trust him so could her people.

"But that was a long time ago Elders, this is…"

"History has a way of repeating itself, the only time we ever allowed any humans to take a branch from this forest was when the tree died. But these two mages come here with the purpose of desecrating our very homes. Our ancestors have convinced humans to stay away from certain parts of land, but do you really believe that humans would leave us well alone? No….we cannot trust humans Celecia, these mages have proven that."

Celecia was not liking the direction this was going at all and she showed her displeasure at this.

"We can't just cast them aside!!! We have to at least show to the humans that we are not demons like the creatures that live here as well….and if we kill these humans, how then can we justify our actions if the humans become angered that we have killed more of their kind?"

"This forest has claimed many humans Celecia, the fear of humans keeps them from interfering here, four more dead will not be a great consequence, and we will defeat the mages well on our own….we do not need their help. Tomorrow…we shall have them executed in the same way as we deal with demons."

Celecia was shocked, she knew full well what her people did with demons when demons harmed the sacred trees, but this was the first time she had heard to such a punishment being done to humans.

"But they are not demons Elders!!!"

"Human, demon, it doesn't matter now, we are to protect the trees of our ancestors no matter what and that is final!"

--------

Later…

Celecia walked to the house and then looked inside to see Naruto standing nearby without his scroll or sword on him as well as his pouch, the blonde ninja looked at Celecia and he spoke.

"Let me guess, it didn't end well?"

Celecia shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I tried my best to reason with the elders but they were not going to budge on the matter."

Merrill then replied.

"You led us into a trap you hussy!"

Celecia was ashamed for a moment and that was further added to as Naruto spoke.

"I guess I am also disappointed as well, we decided to help and now you plan to execute us, I guess the old stories of elves being noble and just are just stories in books then."

Celecia had no idea why but being told this by Naruto hurt her in a way that she couldn't help but feel deeply and she replied.

"I wish it was not the case, but after so many centuries, my people are no longer able to trust humans as well as before. I'm sorry for all this, but I tried, I really tried to reason with them all, including my father, but it was no use….I wish this never happened to you…"

Naruto however replied.

"It's not your fault Celecia…anyway, are they ready for the coming attack?"

Celecia shook her head.

"No….our people are tired, hungry and more….but this has made them desperate, they need something to burn out their anger…and I…am afraid that you and your friends are the ones they want to vent their anger out on."

(Now where have I heard that before?)

Naruto knew full well the way people acted, before he finally changed their views of him, many of the villagers back in Konoha saw him as nothing more than the Kyuubi itself and made his life hard and trying, if it hadn't been for Iruka-sensei and Konohamaru's Grandfather Hiruzen Sarutobi who was the Third Hokage, as well as Teuchi and Ayame, he would have never been able to live a normal life, the people then couldn't avenge the deaths of those who were slain by his demon resident and took out their anger, fear, hatred, and grief on him. But that changed after the defeat of Madara, Akatsuki, Pain, and Sasuke, things were different for him as he was treated far better than before.

But he understood the elves more than they thought and he couldn't find fault in that.

Celecia then spoke to them one more time.

"I…I will try once more, but I fear the worst for you all.. I wish it never came to this…"

As Celecia left, Naruto quickly assessed what he could and as soon as a plan was formed he got ready for action, it would not be long before the main attack came, and he was now ready for action, their belongings were not very far from them and those could be easily reached by the others.

Genie looked at Naruto who remained calm as he looked out of the window, she was not very happy with the situation they were in, it was bad enough that they were prisoners, but after being told that they were going to be executed the next day was really getting on her nerves, the fact that she didn't have her weapons really made things bad for them all.

"Why the heck are you so calm about this?! You realize that tomorrow they could very well kill us?!"

Naruto however replied calmly.

"Relax, I have a plan."

"You have a plan?! Does that include making things worse?!"

Melissa was praying nonstop ever since she had been informed that they were going to be executed soon enough and in a very morbid way as well.

(Please Lord Mylee….help us in our time of need!!!)

Merrill wished she could do something but without her lock picking tools there was no way for them to escape at all, damn this blonde loudmouth for dragging them all here!!!

However, the sounds of horns told them all that things were about to get worse…

In a heartbeat, the village was filled with cries of fear and panic as the male elves got their wives, sons, daughters, and relatives to the safety of their shelters while they moved out to face the incoming attack. That was when Naruto made his move as soon as he moved away from the window, he moved to open a hidden packet in his overcoat…and removed from a water proof pack…several explosive tags.

Naruto wasted no time and placed the tags on the door and quickly ripped the boards of the floor out and formed a barricade.

The women had no idea what he was up to but something in their bodies and minds told them to hide behind the blonde's barricade and not a moment too soon as the tags were consumed by fire and then…

BOOM!!!!

The explosive tags ripped the door clear way in a mess of splinters and shards as the barricade held off the worst of it all. Just as Naruto hoped it would. As soon as the ringing stopped the blonde faced them all.

The three looked up at Naruto who stood up without showing any harm at all and then they noted something different in his face. There was deep red shading in the areas of his eyes like red shadows and his eyes were no longer blue but golden and his eyes resembled a creature that they had no idea about. Melissa spoke then…

"Naruto? What the heck?!"

Naruto shook his head and replied.

"No time to explain! Grab your gear and get ready for the fight! I'll help the elves!"

--------

Outside…

Naruto rushed out of the house that he and the others were imprisoned in and spotted their gear and he decided to grab his scroll as well as his gear and when he left, he spotted that Genie and the others were also getting their gear, he then went ahead to see that the elves were fighting their best but they were seriously in dire straits, the elders rushed out and were doing their best to fight off the possible magical attacks as they were told that the mages were coming in with their forces.

He knew that now was the time for a fight as he summoned three Kage Bushin, he knew that doing any higher would disperse the two Kage Bushin he had left earlier would be unable to summon the Nature chakra he needed. With that in mind he had one Kage Bushin pull back and use the scroll to bring the other two in and at a safe distance just in case. As soon as that was done, the Kage Bushin rejoined him just as en elder spotted him.

"How did you get out of your cell human?!"

Naruto replied in a very serious tone.

"Now is not the time for questions old elf! You have a fight to go to and I intend to help you."

"We don't NEED your help human!!!"

"Really, you're people are tired, deprived of food and rest, you're running low on supplies, and I've got no doubts you elders are already tired in using your magic all the time the Trolls and Goblins attack, you've got two options turn my help down and eventually be wiped out, or let me help save your people, what's it going to be?"

The elder had no time to say his answer as the Goblins and Trolls broke through the gates and many of the elves moved back to get more room, there were just too many of them and both hunger and sleep deprivation was affecting the elves despite them being able to destroy a number of the creatures, added to that were storm of fire balls, showing that the human mages were moving in and also getting involved in the fight, things looked grim for the elves…

Until Naruto got involved as he leaped into the fray, the time for words in his mind was over, action was needed as he got his kunai ready for combat, and the Kage Bushin with him did the very same thing as well. It was then that Garret and Hayden made their appearance.

The blonde Sannin looked at them and saw that they were dressed in black and red robes, with black for their normal outfits with red lining and their capes were also red with black flames and with them were wands, they seemed taller now and somewhat older. But he recognized the two easily enough.

They also recognized him as well.

"Hey brother! Check just who showed up in the least likely place!"

Garret looked and sneered.

"Well now, if it isn't the street rat that Carwess brought into the Guild!"

Naruto growled and replied.

"You two really have gotten to a whole new low, what, did the fact that you guys got kicked out of the Guild for your little activities made you lose what common sense you have?"

"You're the one to talk you street urchin…but now we have all the aces in this battle Naruto!"

Naruto snorted and replied.

"I rather doubt that, you two are still pathetic mages, so why are you hitting this village anyway, since you two have wands why the heck are you attacking them?"

Hayden replied.

"Since you are about to die we might as well tell you….we decided to not just be happy with branches, instead why not have an entire set of staves made from the very heart of all the sacred trees here in the Tarsuis Forest? Plus those extra staves can fetch a very healthy price in the black market."

The elves were horrified by the news as they had a very accurate idea of what the results would be if that was done. One elder spoke out in anger.

"You are willing to do that even if it means desecrating and corrupting our homeland and driving our people to an eventual death?!"

Garret snorted and replied.

"You can't have a set of magical staves if you can't take all the best trees right? Besides, one less elven village isn't going to make any difference in the long run."

Naruto growled and his anger finally came free, this was too much, these guys were willing to butcher an entire village for their own sick desires and that was the last straw, he was going to give them the beating that they so richly deserved, and he replied.

"You are going to have to deal with me first you two, I will not let you have your way here in this village!"

Garret and Hayden laughed and the eldest brother replied.

"Big talk for a soon to be dead street rat! Minions! Kill them all, staring with him!!!"

The Trolls and Goblins charged with all their might, but they were going to be in for the shock of their lives as Naruto attacked them head on with his kunai in hands.

He was able to summon his chakra, as well as that of nature and the Kyuubi's as well. This allowed him to create a hybrid form of his Sage Mode and his basic Jinchuuriki form as the Kyuubi said it was something very new in it's mind. Naruto quickly controlled his rage as he focused his attacks on the Trolls and Goblins. The combination of Hermit Mode as well as his basic Jinchuuriki form allowed him to fight at a level that truly was beyond what normal people could accomplish. The Goblins and Trolls had no idea just how much trouble they were in the very second Naruto began to fight using both modes, it took some level of control but Naruto had not been training hard for nothing.

The elves were fighting their hardest when the Goblins and trolls were hit by a quartet of exact look alike mages, the blows unleashed by the blonde mage seemed to be more powerful than before as several Goblins that attacked en masse were send flying back with intense for ce by the blonde's fists and feet, several more were quickly dealt with by the blonde shinobi/mage as the kid gloves were off, several Goblins tried to attack him with spears, but the blonde flipped over them and they ended up stabbing each other and dying by their own hands. Several Trolls closed in but were kicked aside by the blonde ninja.

Melissa, Merrill and genie got into the fight as well in order to loosen them selves as well as back Naruto up though they would never admit it, Genie was able to get full play with her sword as she cut down Goblin after Goblin. Merrill covered Genie's back with her daggers as well as her throwing knives while Melissa used her war hammer to best effect. The three women were glad to be free and were now able to unleash their strength in the fight. While they were still angry at Celecia they had arrived in time to hear Garret and Hayden's plans for the village and they were sickened by that and decided to help out.

The blonde ninja focused on the rest of the forces before him and was busy knocking the living day lights out of them using all the Taijutsu training that he had been able to gain and with both his Jinchuuriki form and his Hermit Form working in unison at this moment, he was more than a match for the Trolls and Goblins as more of the creatures were sent flying and smashing into the ground, the trees as well as the walls beyond. The attacks were also present in Naruto's Kage Bushin and since all four of them were in powerhouse mode of attack, they proved to be more than a match for even the massive numbers of Goblins and Trolls before them. Several surrounded Naruto at that moment, but he was undaunted as he unleashed a spinning kick that was similar to Lee's Konoha Senpo move and that sent the Goblins flying. Several more Goblins and Trolls fired rocks at Naruto but he was undaunted even more as he charged and unleashed his attacks at them all as the rocks merely bounced off of him as he was unharmed in his Hermit Mode, and coupled with the increase to all his physical abilities in his Jinchuuriki Form as well as the increased healing abilities made him a veritable whirlwind of destruction as he moved in and out of the Trolls and Goblins at high speed.

Garret and Hayden were shocked out of their minds at how easily Naruto was tearing through their forces as if they were nothing at all before him and they tired to fire fireballs and lighting bolts at Naruto but with no success as Naruto closed the gap and attacked even more fiercely….sending more and more Trolls and Goblins out of the way quickly with his Taijustu moves.

Melissa saw that Naruto was still using those underhanded moves as well as those techniques that were so ungentlemanly in her mind, and it still made her wish she had not had someone like him as champion, but now was not the time for such thinking as she fought on.

Genie was shocked at seeing how Naruto was easily throwing aside the trolls and Goblins before him but still thought that it was just magic that was helping him in some fashion, and while in a way she was right, she was far from the truth as the chakra of Naruto was now in unison with the chakra of Nature as well as the Kyuubi's chakra.

Merrill was in the same boat as well as she looked on after defeating her own share of Goblins and Trolls.

Naruto then saw that all the Trolls and Goblins were in position and he made his move as he moved his arms forward without his kunai in the way, the two Kage Bushin made the motions and then in front of everyone Naruto unleashed one of the Sejutsu moves he used in battle with Pain, the Great Ball Rasengan. The two spheres that were the Rasengan appeared at that exact moment….but then they grew to a massive size and were now the size of boulders as Naruto handed them to his Kage Bushin.

The elves watched as Naruto and his Kage Bushin charged at the forces ahead of them while the two wielded both massive Rasengan in either hand…the three charged as the elves couldn't help but be shocked by what they were seeing.

Celecia was utterly impressed she had never seen the sphere Naruto wielded being used in two at once….let alone spheres of this massive size!!!

The elders were shocked…

"Impossible!!! That level of power?! No human mage could possibly wield that!"

Melissa, Merrill and Genie were shocked at the sight before them at this moment, they had seen the Rasengan before, but they had never seen Naruto make two of those, let alone two of this size before them! What sort of magic is this?!

The Trolls and Goblins had no time to react as the Kage Bushin charged right into them and the results were more than explosive!

BOOM!!!!

The combined Hermit's Art: Great Ball Rasengan smashed hard into the Trolls and Goblins and the result was massive explosion that sent the entire area of the village shaking like a massive earthquake was tearing the place to pieces, the gathered monsters were blasted aside and sent flying all over the place as the attack not only destroyed the land before it, but tore into the Trolls and Goblins….resulting in massive injuries for them all the clouds of dust and shattered stone was very thick and when the clouds cleared out….the elves witnessed a sight that amazed and scared them witless….there were two MASSIVE trenches in the ground with massive devastation in the field where the combined might of Goblins and Trolls used to be. The monsters in question were strewn all over the place in massive heaps and they were all out of the fight permanently.

Melissa, Genie, and Merrill were shocked out of their minds by the devastation Naruto was able to do, after the elves had stripped him of his weapons and other items, even his pouch, they thought that without his magical charms, he would be helpless as they were without their weapons….but Naruto had just done the impossible and annihilated an entire horde of Goblins and Trolls like they were nothing.

Garret and Hayden were shocked out of their skin at the sight of how much damage the blonde ninja was able to inflict on their forces, they had hoped that their controlled force of Goblins and Trolls could handle anything that the elves could throw at them as well as Naruto himself, but now it seemed that they were proven wrong….and they hated that!! In their fury, they decided to call in their largest creature yet.

From behind the two mages came a massive dog like figure, but not like any animal conceived by human eyes or anywhere else for that matter, the creature was huge nearly the height of a four story building and had deep red eyes and resembled Akamaru though the skin was balc with red lines and there was a massive collar there as well. The beast roared at the people below it as the two mage siblings laughed.

Naruto looked the creature over, recognizing it and he then replied.

"You two ingrates actually managed to tame a Hellhound?"

Garret nodded with glee and replied.

"That's right Naruto! We managed to summon this beast and control it, you have no idea how much resources we had to sacrifice in order to get this Hellhound. We kept him in reserve just in case the Trolls and Goblins we enslaved would not be enough to break through the elves' defenses despite how weakened they are at the moment. But now since that you're here we can kill you for real!"

Hayden nodded and replied.

"As soon as we unleash our pet Hellhound, you and these annoying elves will be nothing but ash piles as well as that of your party!! Now get ready to die you street rat!!! Charoth! Destroy everything but the trees being guarded by the elves! Start with him!!!"

The Kyuubi however replied.

(("I am not impressed, this pup could never compare to me or the other Bijuu….take this bastard down brat!"))

(For once I a gree with you! Time to go full throttle on this one!!!!)

Naruto quickly moved away as the Hellhound leaped at him to try and eat him with it's teeth, he shouted to the elves and his group.

"GET OUT OF HERE!!! THIS GUY IS MINE!!!!"

The others moved away but all of the elves had the same thought with the exception of Celecia.

(That human is insane!!!)

Melissa and the others looked on in fear as they were seeing Naruto and his Kage Bushin facing off with the massive creature alone.

Naruto began to focus his chakra, he had been training with this technique for some time now and since he had dispersed the two Kage Bushin he had secreted away for gathering Nature Chakra, now was the time to use it, the elves of this forest had no idea just how much power dwelled in their own lands in his mind. There was so much Nature Chakra floating about that gathering the amount he had in mind was easy, though harder than most. He then focused his own chakra and that of the Kyuubi form and as soon as he felt the energy swell and focus, he got ready for the move.

He looked at the mammoth Hellhound before him and shouted to it.

"Hey Ugly!!! GET READY FOR THIS!!!!"

He then decided to hide this move as a spell, he had not told Melissa, Merrill, and Genie that the Rasengan had various forms over the times he had used it as well as the formation of combining it with his Win d Element Chakra, he had not told them the basics of chakra and how it worked in principle as well as use. Now he decided to hide this fact for now, not only will he keep his true abilities hidden but also fool the elves and give them something to think about carefully..

The blonde Sannin began to summon his chakra with his Kage Bushin helping along as they formed the Rasengan and as he felt his Wind chakra moving into him, he decided to bring out his surprise, if the three women thought his Rasengan was magic still, why not play along, besides, he had not revealed this to anyone yet and now was the time.

He came up with the lines as his Wind Chakra began to gather and make the blades.

"I call on the power…"

"Of the fury of the world!!!"

Melissa and the others watched what was going on, they had seen the Rasengan before it looked different almost as if it was glowing with a sliver light and there seemed….to be glowing blades on it.

"What the heck is going on?!"

Merrill asked her companions and Melissa spoke.

"I think he's using a spell, but I don't recognize the incantation!"

Naruto paid no mind as he gathered the chakra for this moment, he had never experienced gathering this much power before and he worried if he was going to turn into a frog at this moment due to this, but since he had trained a lot harder to master his Senjutsu mode, he was not worried, he continued his deception as the elves and his team looked on in shock at what they were witnessing.

"Those of you who no longer live in this world!!!"

"Come forth and merge into one!!!"

The elves as well as the elders and Celecia watched in awe as they felt the raw power in this unknown spell. Celecia then wondered just what was going on, She had seen Naruto before in action and she found him fascinating, even more so when he unleashed his full might in combat at that moment with those two spells, but this was totally unexpected, she had seen the move before when he gathered chakra but this level of power was something she had never seen before.

"Incredible!!!"

The elders were flabbergasted by this as well…

"Impossible!!!"

"How can that human have that much power?!"

Naruto moved on and then raised the Rasengan as the blades of chakra grew into the signature shuriken shape for all to see, the screeching bell sound of the wind melding with the Rasenshuriken filled the air as well as a massive storm buffeted the place like a tidal wave.

"Fill this place with your fury!!! Transform into the blades of wrath!!!!"

"In the name of life I command you all to become the sword of the world!!!!"

The Rasenshuriken was now complete and the Kage Bushin quickly moved to help Naruto as he charged right at the Hellhound before him who roared at the attacking ninja as it was freed from it's surprise at what the puny human was doing, it fired a massive fireball at Naruto but Naruto was unfazed as he leaped over the fireball and flew into the air and right before the blood red moon as well, the moon's color melded with the Rasenshuriken, creating a silvery red hue around the Rasenshuriken and added by the presence of the demonic fire burning below added a further illusion that worked to Naruto's advantage as it gave him a powerful illusion of wielding a weapon intense mystical power in one hand with the blades covering in red and silver with the glowing fire of the fire ball below and the sphere o glowing white chakra added to the touch. This was perfect!!!

"FEEL THE WRATH OF THE WORLD!!!! SPIRIT BLADE!!!!!"

The now disguised Rasenshuriken was unleashed and due to the massive amount of Naruto's gathered Nature chakra mixed with the Kyuubi's chakra the Rasenshuriken was even greater in scope and power, more than enough to be able to tear through the demon Hellhound below. The attack struck home and the satanic Hellhound only roared as it was being consumed by the attack.

The gathered elves as well as Melissa, Merrill, and Genie watched as the Spirit Blade tore into the beast and literally ripped it into nothing but tiny bits of flesh in a heartbeat, it happened so fast that in less than a moment, the once massive demon beast under the command of both Garret and Hayden was reduced to nothing as the Rasenshuriken tore through it, in fact, the only thing left of the beast was a massive lake of its blood and it's foot prints as the Rasenshuriken died down. The place was also covered by tiny slivers of the beast's remain as well as splatters of it's blood, making for a very bloody mess.

Naruto relaxed as he felt very exhausted as soon as he landed on the ground and looked at the handiwork, the super charged Rasenshuriken had drained him of his Nature Chakra but he was not out yet as he moved through the mess and then spotted the two rogue sorcerers.

Garret and Hayden were in stark terror as they saw him walking towards them with the fire of their now reduced to nothing Hellhound in the background, they fell down and were moving back, they had not been caught in the full force of the assault, but seeing what the Rasenshuriken could do was something they had never expected from their rival, the younger twin spoke.

"I-It's impossible!!! There's no such spell as the Spirit Blade!!!! How did you do that?!"

Naruto smirked and replied.

"There's a LOT you don't know about me you arrogant asses, and I am certainly not stupid enough to tell you that, let's just say that those are secrets you'll never find out."

Garret then spoke in a very frightened tone, his arrogant demeanor gone after witnessing such power.

"W-W-What are you going to do to us?!"

Naruto merely struck with a pair of fists and sent the two to lala land and he hauled the now unconscious mages on his back and hauled them away and as he arrived before the still stunned elves as well as his party and dropped them down on the ground.

"Here's the bunch that's been trying to take away the trees you people love so much, what you with them is your call."

The elders were looking at Naruto with very shocked eyes while the others were still trying to absorb the fact that they had witnessed Naruto defeat demons with just his hands and his ninja weapons, then seeing the two spells and that one spell that turned a Hellhound into nothing but a bloody smear on the landscape….

Melissa felt like she was going to faint, Naruto had just killed a giant Hellhound with one attack!!!

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Later…

"So those are the trees you elves are so interested in protecting?"

Naruto asked as he, Melissa, Merrill, and Genie were escorted by the elders as well as Celecia' father who was the leader of the military guard of the village they were in. The trees were indeed very old and radiated power, Celecia then spoke.

"Yes, these are different however, these trees are the burial mounds of some of our greatest elders and warriors, their spirits reside in the earth and since these trees are years older than most of the other trees here in the Forest. So much so that they are able to channel more magic than normal wands ever could. That is why those sorcerers wanted them so badly."

Naruto turned and replied to the elder.

"Look, I don't like desecrating graves and I'm no grave robber, but I do need a branch from one of those trees to complete my wand."

The elders tensed and some of the younger elves were getting ready to draw weapons until Celecia' father spoke to them, telling them to sheath their weapons, after seeing just what Naruto was able to do in combat, he was not going to start a fight with a human who decimated an entire force of demons as well as slaying the demon beast they saw.

The elders were not very happy with this, but they were in the same frame of mind as well, they had no idea that this human had this level of power and they were not in the mood to court his abilities should he decide to fight them. Besides, he risked his life to safe guard their village, and that was also worth considering as no human willingly fought for elves before. One of the elders then spoke.

"Normally we would say no to that as these trees are sacred to us, even more so since they are the burial sites of our long deceased kin, however, you risked your life for us against those two rogues, and you defeated a large number of demons as well as the massive beast summoned by the two rogues. Though it pains us to do this, you have earned the right to take a branch."

And to prove that, the elders moved to the largest and most majestic of the trees and as they surrounded it, they used a spell to gently remove the branch without harming the tree and then they placed it in Naruto's hands as well as some of the twigs that had fallen there as well. The elder who spoke to Naruto earlier then spoke once more.

"I hope this branch is enough, this from the tree of Elder Halcyon, the oldest of our kin ever since the founding of our village nearly four thousand years ago, you will never find another like it anywhere else human."

Naruto was quite surprised and spoke it out.

"You didn't have to give me a branch from that tree…"

"No….but Celecia said there was something about you that was different, I do not know what is, but while I have not changed my own mind about our kind avoiding dealings with humans, you have proven that not all humans are demons as we have believed for centuries. Let's just hope you don't make a habit of coming here all the time and causing this much damage."

Naruto grinned as he recalled the times he had caused a goo deal of damage in a mission, there was the time he had made a volcano rescuing Shion and there was that other time after forcing Sasuke, Amaru, Hinata, and the villagers off the floating city that he tore the place apart, he however was going to keep away from the village as he was not going to do the same thing here and to prove it, he decided to show his respect as he bowed down and spoke to the elder elf.

"I thank you for this gift honored elder."

The elves were somewhat amused by this and it seemed to relax the tension. Much to the relief of the others as well as Melissa and her comrades as they looked on at the scene before them all, in the background Celecia smiled, Naruto had just been given something of a great honor to wield a branch from one of her village's most powerful ancestors and the fact that her village's elders gave the branch willingly was a sign of something good.

As they left the village, the younger elves were a lot more open about their admiration for Naruto's efforts as elf children were waving at him and the male and female elves cheering his name.

"NARUTO!!! NARUTO!!! NARUTO!!!"

As Melissa listened, she couldn't help but feel some hope as the cheering continued

Naruto however cared less for fame, he cared about being recognized for doing the right thing and proving himself, and besides, his victories over Pain, Akatsuki, Sasuke, and Madara as well had validated his abilities as a ninja and also helped the villagers of Konoha see him as a true hero and no longer as the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi.

As soon as they were out of the forest and on their way back to Ohfun, Celecia spoke to Naruto.

"You were an incredible fighter Naruto, not many mages I know had the power to defeat a massive demon with that level of skill, but I had a feeling that there was more there before me and my people earlier….that was no simple spell was it?"

Naruto looked around and sensing that they were the only ones there in the area at the moment, he nodded and gave the elf a nod.

"Yep, that was chakra at work."

"Really? I saw you use that technique before, but I had no idea that it could be used in such a fashion. Maybe I could learn from you how to use that?"

Naruto scratched his head at that, he had taught Konohamaru the Rasengan before heading off to train with the Pervy Sage for a number of years and he heard how Konohamaru had used that move to defeat one of Pain's bodies before he was able to escape with Ebisu in tow. He could tell that Celecia would have great potential in learning how to use chakra but now was not the right time and he had a lot to do at the moment.

"Maybe some other time Celecia, it's not as simple as using magic or the ability to commune with the spirits as you elves can do, but the principles are the same in some regard. I'll see if I can at a much better time."

Celecia saw that Naruto was not yet ready to show her what he was able to do and nodded.

"I'll hold you on that, you've made quite an impression on my village and no matter how some others might see it, you are quite a rarity for a human, I look forward to seeing you again some time."

Naruto nodded as Celecia left and he held the branch and he placed into the pouch that Ila had given him and he looked at the setting sun. he gave a smile and thought about how things must be back in Ohfun, he then looked seriously and wondered just what else was happening back in Konoha, he hoped that everything was all right back there.

(I will make it back home, and I will be Hokage when I get back!!!)

He shook his head and placed such thoughts aside for the moment and spoke.

"I guess it's time we head home. I need to get this branch properly transformed into a wand and…"

Naruto turned and looked at the three of them who were silent.

"What's with the glum faces? The adventure is over and we're heading back, why the heck are you three so silent?"

Genie replied with a very serious look.

"We nearly get fried to a crisp by a Hellhound, get attacked by Goblins AND Trolls, and nearly get executed by elves and you ask why we look like this?!"

Naruto shrugged and replied.

"We're alive aren't we and the elves are grateful, plus we do have some money from selling the boar meat as well as everything from the animal we had before, so why so glum?"

Merrill then spoke.

"Easy for you to say!! You have no idea how many debts we have to collectors and more back in Ohfun!!! We're already in the red as it is and we hoped to get SOMETHING out of this mission and all we have is just four hundred gold coins as it is, the amount isn't t even enough cover half the debts we have!!"

Naruto then thought it over and replied.

"Oh…I see….don't worry, those debt collectors won't be coming for you three anytime soon."

"WHAT?!"

"I asked Ila to do some looking about and found out about the running tabs you guys have with those collectors and since you had some fairly high debts, I went to them and convinced them to lay off for a while so you don't have to worry about them coming to collect any money from you for a while so you're all in the clear to get more money to…."

That surprised the three of them and Melissa quickly spoke out.

"You….You killed them didn't you?! You assassinated those people?! You murdered them?!"

(Lord Mylee….please….this is against my will!!!)

Naruto gave a sour face at Melissa's accusations and replied.

"What makes you think I killed any of them?! I went there to meet them and when I did I personally paid HALF your party's debts with MY own money!!!!"

That got the reaction of great surprise from the three women right off the bat and Naruto gave the Priestess a serious look.

"What the heck could I possibly gain by killing people who are not my enemies for Kami's sake?! You think I went there and killed them, just because I paid them a visit to convince them to lay off your debts to them?! Damn it Melissa, didn't you ever learn not to jump to assumptions until you find out EVERYTHING?! I thought being a noble allowed you to get the best education money could buy, what, you skipped school to look for your hero?! I went there, checked their books and gave them a very hefty sum of my own money so you can be covered for any more adventures that we have to take for the duration…I did something for you and your friends so you can learnt o trust me more, and you accuse me of murder just when I was being nice to you and your friends?! You ungrateful…."

Naruto managed to get his temper in check as he felt the Kyuubi doing it's old tricks again with the chakra and he managed to rein in his temper before it got the better of him. As soon as he managed to get his temper back, he looked at Melissa seriously and spoke.

"You know what? Why don't you three go to the collectors and find out for yourselves once we reach Ohfun, if they are dead or missing then you can say I lied to you, but if they are alive and half your debts are already paid for with MY money, you three owe me a very serious apology! Now hurry up, the sooner we get to Ohfun the sooner I can get my wand made."

As Naruto turned, the three of them were able to hear his words as he walked off in a foul mood.

"Ungrateful, annoying, prissy priestess, arrogant, snide, and ill mane thief, and a very hot tempered woman with a sword….I do something nice for them so they can at least trust me and they smack it right back in my face…..what did I do to deserve being saddled with this bunch?! I'd be better off working with a pack of wolves than these three, at least the wolves show SOME level of appreciation when you feed them."

Melissa and the three moved on, and they wondered if Naruto was right about his words, and if he was….

Melissa couldn't help but wonder just what she was going to say to Jenny when she told her superior just what had happened in this mission as well as her words.

It looks like she was going to learn a lot more about Naruto than she first thought ever since discovering that he was a ninja.

--------

To be continued…

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Author's notes:

This one was one LONG chapter to make, but I am happy to say this it is finally complete!!!

Well that about wraps it up and I can take a much needed break from writing to rest my hands and fingers, anyway I hope this is good for all you readers as I will be placing aside my focus on this story to my other projects, so I hope you all can wait as Rune Soldier Naruto is now officially on hold until some new updates for my other projects are done for reading.

Melissa really has to learn how not to be jumping to conclusions doesn't she? Anyway, she and the others will learn that their perceptions of Naruto are going to be very wrong in the coming chapters, and who knows, things might change for the better.

Also there is a chance Celecia might decide to pursue Naruto in order to learn how to replicate his feats, how will it go if Naruto decides to teach the young elf woman the arts of Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu?

Find out soon!!!


	6. Chapter 6

Rune Soldier Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own either Rune Soldier Louie or Naruto, so let's leave it at that all right?

Chapter 5

Zombie Hunt

( ): Thoughts

((" ")): Kyuubi

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In the Magic Guild's grounds…

The whistling sound of something flying in the air was heard and the source of the sound was revealed as a nearby target dummy was now hit hard with a kunai in the chest. Naruto got up and took out another pair of kunai and began to practice with his throwing skills to make sure he had not gotten rusty all over again and as he got his hits in, he relaxed and moved to get the kinks out of his neck and he felt a bit better.

He had gotten up early to get some much needed training in and to also blow off some steam from the things that happened at least several days ago and while that had been some time, he still felt very annoyed by what had happened, at the moment Master Carwess was currently working on making his new wand for him. He didn't want to bother the head master while he did so and that was why he was here.

As soon as he removed the stiffness from his neck and also his shoulders, he decided to remove the scroll on his back as well as his sword and began to do some stretching exercises and he then began to wonder just what was going to happen for the duration of this day, there was no doubt in his mind that sooner or later, there would be something that crops up and he would be stuck with the bunch yet again.

Speaking of whom, he wondered if the three of them decided to go and check out their collectors to verify if his words were true.

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In the collector's office…

Merrill, Genie, and Melissa were still stunned at the news from the collections agent that was currently handling the debts they owed. The three of them had trooped into the office to see if Naruto's words of paying half of their debts with the agents was true and sure enough….it was.

"Half has been paid?!"

The weedy man nodded as he adjusted his spectacles and replied.

"No less than a week ago, this young man dressed in orange and black along with a scroll on his back, a sword on his back as well and wearing a long coat of red with black flames as well as a headband with a metal plate walked in here and said that he was here to pay half your debts. I was surprised and asked him his name."

"What was his name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki I think, anyway I was curious just how he intended to pay off the debts you each have and he said he was going to pay half, considering the running tab you three have with the office I thought he lost his mind, but at that moment, he pulled out a large bag from what seemed to be a magic pouch of some sort. The bag had over three thousand gold coins and all of them were very real, not fake nor were the coins magical illusions. I asked him why he would pay for half your debts and he said he was doing this to be nice and get you three to trust him since you were his team mates."

The three girls then recalled what Naruto said about him paying half their debts and when they asked to see the gold, they tested it and found the golden coins to be very much real and not fake, this made them realize that the three of them owed Naruto a very big apology for what they had said to him several days before, a fact further reinforced by the words of the collections agent.

"Now I don't know much about this guy Naruto, but if he did a nice thing for you three such as this, I suggest you thank him, I was worrying that this debt would reach the point I'd have to send you three to the prisons."

As they left the collector's offices, the three of them wondered just how they were going to approach Naruto today, they knew for a fact that he was going to be in his favorite tavern, it slightly galled Merrill that they owed Naruto yet again, but she was very curious just where Naruto had gotten that much money to pay half of their debts the way he did. The guy certainly didn't look rich and he was not from a noble family either, so where did he get that kind of funding?

Genie thought under the same lines, the swordswoman had to admit that maybe, just maybe she was wrong about Naruto's abilities, she however was very interested in seeing just what else would the blonde use, if he was telling the truth about not using magic, those tricks of his might be interesting to see. She did wonder just where he had gotten this much wealth, considering how high in the red they were, must have had a LOT of money, but where did he get his hands on that much? They had been adventuring for over three years now ever since they formed their group and even then they were not that well off.

As for Merrill she had to give the young man credit, considering how high they all were in debt, he must have gotten a lot of money, no doubt from being the favored student of the Head Master of the Magic Guild…but even she had some doubts, as far as she knew, the Magic Guild was tight on money and pinched their gold until the coins cried for mercy, or so she heard. Either way, she was curious about this whole thing involving Naruto, this might turn out to be rather interesting.

--------

In a tavern…

Ila laughed as Naruto ate away like mad on his food.

"Easy Naruto, you are going to choke if you keep that up."

Naruto smiled and replied as he was finally able to swallow the large helping of hot roasted beef down his mouth.

"I can't help it Ila-chan, this stuff tastes great, I wish I had ramen though, but still…"

"Ramen huh? Just what sort of food is that?"

Naruto smiled and thought back on his favorite food, ramen had always been something that he enjoyed deeply ever since he was a kid, while he did eat other food items, and he enjoyed them greatly, he still had his heart set on having ramen. He recalled the first day he dropped by the Ichiraku Ramen Bar so long ago and tasted the ramen there, he fell in love with the food item from day one. That and the fact that the owner Teuchi and also his daughter Ayame were among the few people so long ago who were like family to him. They cared for him and treated him kindly, for that he would always come there to eat his lunch and dinner.

He thought of them and hoped that they were all in good health and were having a thriving business. He then decided to tell Ila a bit about his love for ramen. And since he had eaten ramen for almost his whole life, Naruto was quite an expert on ramen

"Ramen is a special meat or fish based broth dish with noodles as well as plenty of toppings, soy or miso soup and the toppings can be meat or fish as well as vegetables. I loved eating ramen ever since I was a kid back home there in my land. There are at least four kinds of soups, one is the salt soup, it's pretty light, pale yellow in color and has salt with mixtures of chicken, vegetables, fish, and sea weed. Sometimes you use pork bones…"

"Wait a moment, pork bones?"

"Yeah, the bones are boiled so the stock taste is mixed into the soup though not for long so the soup remains clear. The ramen made from that soup stock is pretty good for you, not much fat, vegetables such as cabbages, leeks onions, and bamboo shoots, with chicken meat balls, fish flakes, and pickled plums as toppings too. The other is the pork bone soup, this has the pork bones and fat of the pigs boiled in the broth for hours in high heat until it's thick and white, this makes the broth have a great pork taste as well as have a thick and creamy consistency that rivals melted butter as well as milk or gravy. Sometimes they add either soy sauce or chicken stock to the ramen as well as a special black aromatic oil that is edible and made from charred garlic or Sesame seeds."

"The other soup stock type is soy sauce broth, this uses either chicken or vegetable stock along with fish and beef with a good mix of soy sauce to give the soup a brown color as well as a tangy, salty, and savory taste but it is still good to the taste buds, the noodles there are curly than straight like the salt and pork bone soups, though not always, it has marinated bamboo shoots, green onions, fish cakes, bean sprouts, seaweed, boiled eggs, and black pepper along with other spices as well as sliced beef. And the last is the miso soup type, this one is blended with oily fish and chicken broth or lard. That makes the soup have a thick, nutty, slightly sweet and hearty taste. Miso soup ramen is very robust and has a number of good toppings, spicy bean paste, butter, corn, leeks, onions, bean sprouts, ground pork, cabbage, sesame seeds, white pepper, and chopped garlic. The noodles there are thick and curly as well as chewy and topped also with sweet corn and butter."

Ila was impressed at that, she had never heard of this kind of food before and the way Naruto had described it she could almost taste it, she then spoke to her long time friend.

"You sound like an expert on this Naruto-kun."

"Heh, not really, Old Man Teuchi and his daughter-Ayame-neechan are the real experts, I've eaten ramen in their place longer than anyone, I miss their food and they are really nice to me ever since I was a kid back home."

"I see…by the way, I have to ask you something Naruto."

"What is it Ila-chan?"

Ila thought her plans over and decided to speak.

"You have anything to do today?"

Naruto thought it over and decided to check the small book he had on hand that was actually his schedule, in order to avoid looking too much like a lost kid, in the words of Yamato-sensei he decided to carry a schedule booklet to be sure, Ila never understood the words written therein since it was in Naruto's home language but she knew that Naruto knew the words himself. The blonde Chuunin sighed as he read the schedule.

"I've got to do some delivery runs for the taverns today."

Ila sighed but perked up immediately as she decided it would still be a chance for her to join Naruto around the city for the time being.

"All right, you mind if I join you Naruto?"

"Not really, but this might bore you Ila-chan, after all I'm just doing some of my usual delivery rounds."

Ila shook her head and replied.

"Nonsense! Besides, It's not often I get to visit new taverns and all, I usually hang out only here so a new place would be nice."

Naruto decided not to argue with Ila as he got down to work, the job of ferrying supplies from the market to the taverns was something he did on his free time, not only was he paid a small but good sum of money for his efforts, but also he would be able to get some new rumors on the latest happenings around the world, it was a very good thing in his mind as he would get the latest information on what was going on as tavern owners were good in the gossip line.

--------

In the Temple of Mylee…

Jenny looked over at the students who were currently training with their battle staves in the courtyard, many of them were young apprentices, but there were also a scattering of senior apprentices there, it was time for a number of the young priestesses to go out and experience the world and serve the people as Priestesses of Mylee, three of them were close supporters of Melissa, they were also nearing the point that they would be needed to handle missions for the outside world. And she had just the mission for them.

There had been reports of zombies infesting some nearby ruins a week of two worth of travel from Ohfun and many of the people of the villages that were near the ruins had petitioned for the Temple to send some Priestesses to cleanse the place. She decided to send the group on the mission with Melissa leading the team, for now however, she had to wait for Melissa to arrive and talk to her about the soon to come mission to the temple ruins.

It was not long before the priestess in question arrived and the head priestess turned to speak to her apprentice.

"Melissa, it's good to see you here, I have some important tasks for you."

Melissa nodded and spoke to her superior.

"Yes Priestess Jenny?"

"There is a temple ruin that has a zombie infestation in it, the location was originally considered clean, but now it seems that something foul has taken residence in the ruins, it would be a good place for a number of our apprentices to get as much experience in dealing with the undead as well as learning how to live in the outside world. You will be taking a number of apprentice Priestesses to this ruin, and bring your champion along as well all right."

Melissa flinched a bit at that and Jenny was quick to notice that and spoke to her student.

"I take it something happened in your mission there to the Tarsuis Forest?"

Melissa nodded and told Jenny about all that had happened and the discoveries of what Naruto was able to do in battle as well as what happened when they were going back to Ohfun, Jenny sighed a bit and while it did make her unhappy that Melissa and Naruto were still not in good straits, but she had to admit that Naruto was doing exactly what she hoped he would do in order to help Melissa get used to the real world. The blonde ninja was doing his best to work with Melissa and despite their gripes with one another; Melissa could see that the idea of having Naruto as Melissa's champion was going to work fine.

As Melissa was done she wondered just how Jenny would react to the news of the latest row between her and Naruto, she knew for a fact that Jenny had high regard for Naruto though why she would never know at this moment.

"Melissa…"

"I apologize Mistress Jenny, it's just not easy dealing with…Naruto being my champion."

"I see, however, it is by learning the truth about others that we can really put our lessons to the test Melissa….anyway, we have to do our duties for now, though I hope that you would at least take the time needed to see the truth of things before making a full judgment on someone's actions Melissa, it would not be good for a Priestess of Mylee to be making accusations without proper proof after all."

"I understand."

"Good, I suggest you bring your group into this mission as they will no doubt be given payment, and Melissa, show Naruto some courtesy by thanking him for helping in making the financial debts you have easier to pay, after all, Naruto gave up a good amount of his own hard earned money to help you.."

Melissa gave a sigh at this as she knew this was not going to look well to her but Jenny was right, she did owe Naruto both an apology as well as thanks for doing that for her and the others. It was the least she could do, for now she knew that Genie as well as Merrill were there in the tavern that they normally frequent when they were not at work. It was then that she met the three Priestesses who were going with her in this mission. One was an orange haired girl, the other had reddish brown hair, and the last had deep raven black hair, she knew them well enough.

"We're happy to be traveling with you Miss Melissa!"

"Yeah! We'll do our very best!"

"This is such an honor!"

Later, she and the other priestesses arrived in the tavern and there were naturally Genie and Merrill, as soon as she had informed the two of the coming mission, Merrill agreed with the idea of going there to begin with as they were getting paid on this mission while Genie was also interested to see how things would go in this trip. Melissa sighed a bit as she sat down and wondered just what to do if ever Naruto showed up.

While she was not going to make a scene like before, it still made her uncomfortable with the idea of anyone finding out her chosen champion was an assassin. She kept in mind that Naruto had never killed anyone before but it still took some getting used to, after all, she had dreamed of getting a valiant knight in shining armor but instead got him. However, he had done something which was rather gentlemanly, which was paying off half their debts and while she was not as money savvy as Merrill, she knew that they had a lot of debt and to know that he had paid half of it was surprising.

"So when to do we set off to do this mission Melissa?"

"Tomorrow would be a good time, the sooner we can remove the threat in the temple then all the better for the townspeople."

It was then that Ila showed up and that was where Merrill saw her and she was curious as to why Ila was here of all places..

"Hey Ila."

Ila turned and the red haired sorceress arrived at the table.

"Hi there, I came here with Naruto today since he's going some supply runs for the taverns, what seems to be going on here?"

"Melissa's going on another mission and we're going to bring the priestess along as well."

"So I guess that means that Naruto would be coming along then."

The three nodded though with some reluctance and that was when Anna spoke out.

"Who is this Naruto person?"

"That would be me."

The three girls turned to see Naruto who was dressed in his full attire with the scroll on his back as well as his sword. The blonde Chuunin had spotted the group as soon as they were in the tavern and managed to silently work his way to them, in line with keeping his ninja training as sharp as possible. Besides that, he wanted to see if Genie, Melissa and Merrill could see him coming, and apparently they didn't.

The three priestesses were surprised since they had no idea that someone was behind them at that very second; both Genie and Merrill were somewhat surprised that Naruto had managed to avoid them from seeing him. They were unaware that after all the hardships he had to deal with back home, Naruto had taken his training a lot more seriously in the ninja arts to prove he had what it took be a ninja worthy of not just being the future Hokage but as the son of the Fourth and more besides. That was why before he got sucked into this dimension, Naruto had pushed himself to succeed in it all to make his godfather Jiraiya, his Jonin sensei Kakashi and all the people he was close to proud of him.

(How the heck did he manage to do that?!)

Merrill was surprised as she considered herself to be very skilled in sensing danger yet Naruto was able to avoid her senses until he spoke. How could she had missed him since only he dressed in orange, red, and black?

(This is just like the time he had that kunai to my throat….not bad, it fits if he was trained to be an assassin.)

Genie had to admit that while she still had an axe to grind with the blonde Shinobi,/Mage, she had to admire his ability to avoid being heard or seen, such a style was considered rather deadly.

Naruto looked the three women over and spoke.

"Judging from your clothes you three are apprentice priestesses from the Temple of Mylee…which means that they are supposed to be on some sort of a training mission and Melissa is the supervising Priestess, am I right Melissa?"

Melissa looked at Naruto still gave her a slightly hard look, no doubt he was still unhappy with the accusation she threw at him when he told them that he had seen their debt collectors and she accused him of murdering them as he had been trained as an assassin. She sighed mentally and nodded at Naruto's question.

"Yes, there's a ruin that's already been checked out but the villagers have sent a request to have the ruin checked out again since there seems to be something taking residence there."

Naruto knew he would have to come along again as Melissa's champion and he sighed as he had not gotten the apology from her as well as from Merrill and genie, but at least he would be able to put some more of his skills to better use.

"All right then, I'll see you all tomorrow."

As Naruto left with Ila, the three young priestesses looked at him and wondered just who he was, they had seen the hard look that he had given Melissa and while they had no idea as to why Melissa was getting that kind of look from Naruto of all people, they were not in the mood to have anyone hurt their idol.

--------

The next day…

Naruto arrived there to see Melissa, Merrill, and Genie ready to move out while the three priestesses were there as well, he had already packed up a good number of supplies, using some of the funds he had collected from his works as well as the recent payments for some of his other activities. He bought plenty of supplies that could be of good use and had them in several large packs. As soon as he arrived he looked at the three and wondered just where their supplies were.

"Aren't you three traveling a little too light or something?"

Janet replied.

"We're fine, we're with Miss Melissa so we'll be all right."

Joan and Anna nodded as well, and Naruto could tell that the three of them had some sort of hero worship thing going on with Melissa, no doubt they considered her their idol and wanted to emulate her. Naruto could help but shake his head as this was beginning to remind of his younger days when many girls would flock to a certain Uchiha survivor when he was still back in the Academy. He recalled that so well that he could have sworn that Melissa was the female version of the younger Sasuke in the hero worship department, considering the looks the three gave to Melissa.

(Geez…this is like seeing the Sasuke fan club all over again….)

Of course, Sakura had shed her love for Sasuke considering how far he had fallen and many of the people in the village of Konoha now consider Sasuke as an exile. He might not have wished that was the case, but there was nothing he could done now as Sasuke brought himself to ruin in his hatred. Besides that, he learned that his girl-friend Hinata carried to torch for him even then so it wasn't a total loss. And he was with the two of them now so there was no need for him to dwell on such things.

He placed those thoughts aside and replied.

"Anyway, I got some new supplies for everyone, spare food, tools, some medical salves, potions and all the other tidbits, plus some trail rations for the trip. Anyway, do the three of you still have those scrolls?"

The three nodded as they handed him the scrolls that had their gear in them. The three watched as Naruto had the scrolls and then made some gestures with the scrolls opened, in a puff of smoke the three were surprised to see several piles of items appear on the scrolls. They watched as Naruto divided the supplies he just bought, placing them with the current piles, he then made a different set of hand signs and the piles vanished once more.

"Wow…."

"What kind of magic was that?"

"What kind of scrolls are those?"

Naruto grinned a bit and replied.

"Those are storage scrolls, where I come from we store all needed gear in them for easier transport and less hassle. Anyhow, I made some extra scrolls so you can have them."

The blonde Chuunin took what's left of the supplies he had bought and took out the other scrolls he had worked on before. He developed this world's version of his world's scrolls and they worked fine, he decided to test them out on the three priestesses since they were different though still similar to the ones his world used. As soon as the supplies were on the scrolls he spoke to the priestesses.

"Now then, all we need to seal the stuff away if a drop of blood from each of you."

That got a reaction from Joan, Anna, and Janet as they recoiled from Naruto.

"What?! You want a drop of blood?!"

Naruto shook his head in exasperation and gave them a look of annoyance.

"Yes a drop of blood from each of you, it's not like I'm asking for a whole tankard full here, besides, there is a reason for it, the drop of blood is your blood contract with the scroll, once you place the blood there the scroll will then obey only your commands. Think of it as your personal storage scroll."

The three looked at one another and then to Melissa who gave a nod and they sighed as they cut their fingers and let a drop of blood fall to the scroll. Naruto had made the scrolls in a way that they used the runes of this world as their language to make it less of a hassle for him, but the gestures had to be the same as the ones used back in his dimension. The three watched as the blood began to move and form into their names in Runes, much to their surprise and that of Melissa and the others.

Naruto nodded at that as he finished it off.

"Now, unlike using wands, if you want to store away those items on the scrolls you have to follow some hand signs, now follow me and when you are done then mold your inner energy into the gestures."

Joan, Anna, and Janet began to follow Naruto's example as he did his hand signs, it took some effort as well as a good amount of trial and error but they got it and the blonde could see that while they were not aware of it, the three had just tapped into their bodies' reserve of chakra, as soon as he could see that they were ready, it was then that Naruto finished it off.

"Now then, say the word seal and the scroll will do the rest."

The three nodded and spoke the word.

"Seal!"

They watched as the supplies on their scrolls disappeared and there was the word for full in runes there was none before. Naruto nodded in approval, looks like things won't be so bad on this trip after all. He then finished it off with the last instructions.

"If you want to get the supplies from the scroll, do the same gestures and say the word unseal."

The three did so and they were surprised that in that same puff of smoke, the supplies that vanished were back in sight on top of the scroll. Naruto smiled as they sealed it away and he rolled the scrolls up and gave them to the three.

"Not bad, you three are quick studies; now don't lose those all right? It's hard making new ones like them."

Joan, Janet and Anna nodded, still marveling at the scrolls before them as they had never seen this kind of magic before in their lives. They began to think that maybe this guy would be a good asset to the group as well. Melissa and her friends then turned to Naruto and spoke to him, no doubt somewhat surprised that the three priestesses had such scrolls, the ones they had were totally different and relied on him to open them.

"How come their scrolls are different than the ones we have?"

"Yeah, our scrolls rely on you being the one to open them. So why don't we have scrolls like them?"

"I have to agree with Merrill and Genie Naruto, this is not exactly wise to give us scrolls that need you to open them when we need the supplies and you are not around."

Naruto sighed and replied to the questions.

"You'll get your own scrolls soon enough, besides the reason is that the scrolls you have were ones I had with me and were bound to me by contract. As soon as I get back I'll see if I have enough supplies to make more of them so don't ask me again, besides, the reason I never gave you three your own personal scrolls is that you three didn't trust me, not to mention that fact that two of you have tried to attack me more than once, and the other has considered me as an evil person even after only knowing me for only a few weeks."

Naruto glared at them to dare them to say otherwise and they were silent as they had to admit that he did have a point in his words. The blonde Chuunin however was far from done with what he wanted to say and decided to finish things before they headed out to do this duty handed to Melissa by Jenny.

"Until you three learn to trust me, I am not handing you your own scrolls and that is that. Now let's get going."

--------

Later…

As the group kept on traveling, Naruto was deep in thought at the moment on how he could find a way to get back home, he hoped that there was some way he could be able to see the people he cared about back in Konoha and elsewhere back home, he thought about how much trouble he must be in back home at the moment. He wished that he had some way to even just send a message back, but he doubted writing a letter was going to cut it, while he had developed considerable magical talent already, he still needed t find out just how he had arrived in this world so he would have a much bigger picture on how he got there.

As the group moved on Genie noted that Naruto seemed so deep in thought that she couldn't help but try to figure just what made the blonde ninja/mage so silent.

"Is it just me or is Naruto dead silent?"

Merrill shrugged and replied.

"Just as long as he's not getting on anyone's nerves is fine with me."

Melissa looked at Naruto as he seemed to be deep in thought and she couldn't help but wonder just what was going through Naruto's head at this moment. She placed that aside for the time being until Joan ventured a question to her.

"Miss Melissa, just who is Naruto anyway?"

Melissa wondered what she should say, should she tell Joan and the others that Naruto was her champion? No, it was still too difficult for her to say it as she still needed time to think about how to break the news to the three that he was her champion, she had no idea just how Joan, Janet and Anna would react if they found out that Naruto was a ninja as well as a mage. She then decided to ask Joan why was it she wanted to know more about Naruto.

"Why do you want to know Joan?"

"Well….he uses magic like a mage but he never seems to act like it, he managed to sneak up on us without anyone noticing, and the magic he used on those scrolls he gave is something I have never seen before."

Anna then joined in.

"Yeah….not to mention I have seen him in the Temple before, always talking to Head Priestess Jenny, they seem to be on friendly terms too."

Melissa decided to tell things as best she could, she was not going to mention that Naruto was trained as an assassin to the three just yet, or maybe never. It was up to her after all.

"Well, I learned that he is a good friend of the head Priestess and is a student in the Magic Guild, hand picked by Master Carwess himself. His full name is Naruto Uzumaki if I recall."

The two young apprentice priestesses nodded and it was then that Anna spoke out.

"Wait….I've heard of him before!"

"Really?"

Anna nodded vigorously as she told the others of what she found out..

"I heard that he was the one who foiled some sort of robbery attempt in the Magic Guild's storehouse for magical ingredients a few months back, they caught the man but he was literally begging to be locked away for life and he looked like he got beaten by a hundred people at once! It was then that Naruto showed up and the man panicked even more until Naruto hit him to keep him quiet."

Joan thought about that and she nodded as she began to recall Naruto. Apparently Naruto's escapades in Ohfun were not unheard of.

"Yeah….now that I think about it, he was also rumored to be the one who helped the guards in Ohfun at one time find a smuggler who dabbled in forbidden weapons, I don't know how but Naruto apparently found out the man's location and had helped the guards in capturing the man without incident, he was well paid for his efforts too."

This surprised everyone in the group of the three female adventurers; apparently Naruto had been doing a lot of things in Ohfun that seemed to actually be beneficial to all involved though there was no doubt he was not acting as a mage, but a ninja as he said himself to be. The three of them looked at their brooding companion and wondered just what other rumors were on with him. Janet then walked over to the blonde Chuunin and spoke to him.

"Mr. Naruto?"

That got Naruto out of his thoughts and looked at the young priestess.

"Yeah, is there something wrong? And don't call me Mr. Naruto, Naruto is fine by me since I'm not that old."

"Oh, okay, I was wondering about that massive scroll on your back there, what is it?"

Naruto grinned at that and hefted the scroll to his shoulder.

"This is a Summoning Contract Scroll,"

"Summoning Contract?"

"Yeah, it kind of having a familiar with you wherever you go but instead of the creature being with you, you give a blood offering to the creature and use your body's inner energy to bring the creature to you, the larger the creature, the more energy is needed to bring the creature her I have my name on it as well in blood so I can use it, only the ones who have their names on such a contract can summon the animal."

Janet was surprised as she looked at the massive scroll….just what sort of creature could this person summon that required him to offer his blood? It must be a very powerful creature in order to require such a scroll to summon it.

As the group made camp, Melissa and the other priestess decided to focus on seeing the beauty of the place before them while Naruto helped in gathering what he could to get the fire going. He managed to unseal the other supplies and soon a camp fire was ready. Since they had plenty of food with them, there was no need for them to go out hunting and gathering what they could at this moment. As the girls began to get used to the situation, it seemed that there would be no problem tonight… Naruto however was deep in thought.

The priestess's question had made him realize something that he had forgotten for months due to the thought that Summoning his Toad allies would be impossible, but now that he thought about it, then there was a chance that he could summon his Toad Summons and have them Reverse Summon him back to Konoha.

(It's a wild chance….but I can try it out.)

However, it was not long before he was feeling the emergence of his demon resident in his stomach. The Kyuubi was not the least bit amused by what Naruto had in mind and the demon fox made that fact very clear to his container.

(("You WANT to use the Summoning Scroll?"))

(Yeah, if this works, it might be helpful enough to get me home…)

(("There's one problem with that idea kit, as you might have known already, the summoning jutsu requires you to have enough chakra to summon a creature that is able to be in the size needed for the amount of chakra you can use, normally you can summon those two brothers with your already present chakra, but if you needed to summon that mammoth Boss of a Toad Summon named Gamabunta, then you use a combination of my chakra and yours….follow me so far?"))

(Yeah…)

(("Good….now then on with why doing this Summoning thing is a bad idea, in order for you to summon one of those Toads from your world to this one; you have to use the same level of chakra that you used to summon Gamabunta, and that is just for the two Toads you trained with in order to learn Combination Jutsu. In simple terms, you use up enough chakra to make three Jonin drop from exhaustion. If you tried to summon Gamabunta of all things…you would need to be using your Sage Mode AND my chakra at the very same time and that can be very exhausting….in simpler terms…you run the risk of killing yourself. Plus if the Toad Summons have to go back home…then they would have to burn up a lot of their own chakra just to head back….that is why you cannot use the Toad Summoning Scroll to get home right off the bat."))

Naruto frowned at that and spoke to the Kyuubi.

(What about Senjutsu chakra combined with your won chakra?)

(("That can work too, but keep in mind you would have to study how to manipulate space and time, and you don't have that training, only that bastard Madara Uchiha had that ability as you recall, he's the only ninja I know of who could manipulate space and time in a way that naturally made him extremely difficult to kill. You recall how hard it was to even land a glancing blow on him when you first met him as that goofball Tobi?"))

Naruto nodded at that as he recalled just how hard it had been to even lay a blow on Madara, he had used a Rasengan on the ancient Uchiha Clan head before when they first met and he just phased right through him without a single impact, it had taken all of his abilities, his use of the Senjutsu chakra as well as the Kyuubi's own chakra to finally end Madara once and for all. He then spoke to the Kyuubi to finally be sure about things.

(So there's no way back to Konoha through the Reverse Summoning Jutsu?)

(("I didn't say that….but you would need a mammoth amount of chakra to do that, and apart from the use of the Senjutsu chakra, the only way for that to happen is if you use my full power, and you vowed not to use it too much remember? Besides that, you know the results of that right?"))

Naruto didn't need to be reminded at how much chaos he could be capable of when he allowed the Kyuubi to take over his body, while he now had a higher and stronger level of control over his tailed States, even to the dreaded Eight Tailed State, he was not in the mood to unleash to that level of power in this world of all places. However knowing that he could summon his Toad allies was enough, if he could tell them everything on where he was at the moment, then he would at least assure the others back in Konoha that he would be fine.

(All right….I'll just summon Gamatatsu and Gamakichi, do we have enough chakra for that?)

The Kyuubi growled positively and that was enough for Naruto to know. The blonde Chuunin decided to try it out as he removed the scroll from his back and as soon as he was able to ready the scroll, he relaxed himself and began to summon the chakra of the Kyuubi, as soon as he felt the chakra flow into him, he began to make the hand signs, making the others look at him with some level of confusion, namely the three apprentice Priestesses, and Joan spoke.

"What is he doing?"

"I don't know, those gestures are not like anything I know of."

Genie, Melissa, and Merrill looked on, trying to figure out just what Naruto was up to now, but it was not long for them to figure it out as Naruto bit his finger to take some blood from his finger, he then focused the chakra and shouted out the jutsu as he placed his hands on the ground.

"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!!!"

The group were surprised that there was a sudden explosion of smoke in the field before them, in a moment, the blonde ninja/mage stood up and as Merrill was about to ask what was going on, they spotted two massive forms in the smoke, Genie instinctually reached for her sword while Melissa was ready to use her war hammer and Merrill was armed with her daggers. It was then that the smoke cleared and the two forms were revealed.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"

The three apprentice priestesses shouted as the cloud of smoke revealed two frogs….but these were not the regular type of frogs….they were about the sizes of large horses or small houses, one had deep orange skin, had a vest on it with several streaks of black color as well as gloves and a sash on the place where the waist would be for a human, the other creature had a similar setup of clothes but no gloves, it had deep yellow skin with orange streaks on it's body as well as several gourds on it's sash.

If the sight of the two massive creatures was not surprising enough for the group of women, they were getting yet another shock as the one with orange skin spoke to Naruto in the human tongue as it raised it's front limb..

"Yo! Naruto-san, good to see you here!"

Naruto smiled at his old buddy Gamakichi who was accompanied by his younger but no less large brother Gamatatsu, the red skinned Frog Summon was still wearing the sash, vest and the gloves he wore when he joined Naruto all those years after the training with Jiraiya, since then if Naruto' didn't need the heavy muscles but something a bit more precise he would call on both Gamakichi and Gamatatsu. The two toad brothers were good friends of his and while it had been some time since he had seen them, he was happy that they had grown a lot more powerful than he had last seen them, he had taken a hell of a great risk to use the Toad Summoning Scroll, but it seemed that since the Animal Summoning Jutsu crosses locations, it could very well cross dimensions, however it had taken a lot of chakra from him to the point he nearly felt like he was going to pass out, he knew that if he ever ran out of his own chakra, he would die, the loss of Kakashi was enough to tell him that. He missed his sensei but knew that he was not forgotten and he would never forget how much Kakashi meant to him.

He smiled a bit as he felt his body recover and responded to Gamakichi's greeting.

"Nice to see you too Gamakichi, and it's great to see you too Gamatatsu."

Naruto began to feel exhausted and fell a bit forward but that was when Gamatatsu sprang into action and caught him as the yellow skinned toad summon and brother of Gamakichi moved forward and spoke to their summoner.

"Easy there Naruto-san…you look pale, maybe you haven't been eating enough…"

That was when the others in the group reacted.

"THOSE…THOSE…THOSE FROGS ARE TALKING!!!!!!"

Gamakichi looked at the direction of the three young priestesses and snorted a bit.

"Hey! We're Toads! Not Frogs!"

Melissa wondered just what was going on here, of all the things she expected from her champion, summoning massive toads that could actually talk was utterly not what she had in mind. Genie was looking on with wide eyes at this as she saw the creatures, while Merrill was still trying to digest the fact that the Toads were talking to them. Gamakichi looked about and made a comment to his summoner and sometime friend.

"Hey Naruto-san, where are we? This place sure as heck isn't Konoha or anywhere I know of."

Naruto sighed and replied to Gamakichi's question.

"Believe me, we have a lot to talk about, by the way….how's Gamabunta-san doing?'

Gamakichi grinned and replied.

"Dad's fine, he's still in good health and doing a lot of work for the moment, he was actually wondering when you were going to summon him for the chance to finally share a drink with him. Anyhow, Shima and Fukasaku are still arguing as usual though Fukasaku is a little bit more relaxed about it. The others are also in good health as well, so you don't have to worry about us back there on Mount Myobokuzan."

Naruto grinned at that, at least his Summons were in good health, he had been worried when he had not been able to see them for some time. he then decided that he should fill them in on what was the current situation before him. But he decided to enlist the support of the two Toad Summon siblings for the mission.

"I'll tell you some important things later you guys, but do you mind helping me out in a mission?"

Gamakichi nodded with a wide grin.

"Sure thing Naruto-san, I'll be more than ready to help out, it's been getting kind of dull without some action to do."

Gamatatsu smiled and replied.

"Sure thing, I just hope that a very good snack is waiting at the end of it."

Naruto chuckled a bit, despite maturing physically, Gamatatsu still had a thing for snack foods and he knew that was not going to go away anytime soon. It was then that Melissa stepped forward and spoke to Naruto.

"Naruto…. Just what ARE they?"

Before Naruto could answer Melissa's question, Gamakichi directed his attention to the blonde priestess, the Toad Summon looked the senior priestess over, and then directed his attention to Merrill as well as Genie, this made the three women in question somewhat nervous as to why the Toad being was looking them over. They got their answer when Gamakichi looked at Naruto and spoke.

"Hey Naruto-san, just who are these three?"

"Oh yeah, Gamakichi, Gamatatsu, this is Melissa, Genie, and Merrill."

"Oh…hey Naruto-san, are you going to forget about Sakura and Hinata or something? I thought they were your girlfriends?"

That was enough to make Melissa and the others look at Naruto in surprise while the blonde ninja/mage slapped his forehead, he should have known this was going to happen with Gamakichi and he replied.

"No I'm not doing such a thing, besides, there's a lot of things going on here that I need to tell you about. Let's just focus on the mission at hand okay?"

Gamakichi knew that he was making Naruto uncomfortable to say the least and decided to hold his tongue and it seemed that Gamatatsu did the very same thing and it was then that genie decided to speak out, while she was still trying to figure out what to think of the two massive talking toads that had just appeared before them, she wanted to know just what they were capable of in combat.

"While I admit that this….was surprising, these Toads would have to be able to carry their own weight if they intend to help us on the mission, so what are they capable of?"

Naruto grinned and spoke to his two Toad Summons as there were some things that they could show to the group.

"You're up Gamatatsu."

The yellow skinned Toad grinned and nodded at that. He then directed himself to a nearby tree and began to focus his chakra and as soon as he felt his inner supply be properly molded and fueled, he unleashed the jutsu.

"SUITON!!! MIZU NO KENJU!!!!"

The yellow skinned Toad unleashed a high speed bullet of water that hit the tree and literally broke it into smaller pieces as if they were cut by a powerful blade like they were merely kindling. This surprised the group immediately as Naruto grinned as Gamatatsu gave a happy grin at his brother and Naruto, apparently Gamatatsu had been training again to be better in helping out due to his slowly growing maturity to equal Gamakiri with the technique.

"How'd I do brother, Naruto-san?"

Gamakichi grinned and gave his little brother the thumbs up.

"Nicely done brother, I guess the training paid off."

Naruto agreed.

"Yeah! That was cool, I'd love to see the combination jutsu we make this time, I think is's your turn Gamakichi."

The orange skinned toad nodded at that and picked his own target tree, the Toad then made several hand signs and then as he felt his chakra grow as well as the oil in his body be in the right mix and amount, he unleashed his own technique.

"KATON!! ENDAN!!!!"

The group watched as the orange skinned Toad unleashed a massive tongue of fire right before the startled group of women and reduced the tree to ash.

All the while Naruto was relaxed at the sight before him, he had seen Gamakichi do this before when they fought with the Three Tails as well as working with Yukimaru… he then thought of the young kid and hoped that he and Guren were all right. He then looked at Melissa and the others as their eyes were wide with shock, Merrill then spoke out.

"Did…Did I just see that?! That massive Toad breathed fire?!"

Gamakichi grinned and replied.

"Yep, your eyes didn't fool you at all human, I'm a Fire Chakra type, while my brother here is a Water Chakra Type."

The Priestesses as well as Genie and Merrill were still looking on with shock as Naruto then joined into the conversation.

"Gamakichi and Gamatatsu are among those I summon if I need support with certain jutsu that can only be done with an animal summoning. Now with that out of the way, I guess we can keep moving to those ruins you Priestesses were so hot on going to once we break camp tomorrow….anyway, just what sort of threat are we dealing with this time?"

Janet was the first to speak at that point while still looking at both Gamakichi and Gamatatsu with a rather wary eye.

"We're supposed to be clearing out the ruined temple of zombies."

Naruto blanched at that, he had some fairly high dislike for anything that dealt with the undead, he was spooked out of his wits more than once when he was on a mission in the Land of Birds with Neji, Lee, and Tenten along with Kakashi to help deal with some sort of ghost haunting the country, while they finally brought the rightful ruler to power, they had found out that there was a real ghost who helped them, not to mention the fact that at one point in his life, he was visited by the spirits of both Hiruzen Sarutobi and Gekko Hayate, the very second he realized he had been visited by actual ghosts, he was not able to sleep for a week despite how much he viewed the former Third Hokage as a grandfather.

Melissa noticed that and spoke to Naruto.

"Naruto, you all right?"

Gamakichi noted that and spoke to Melissa.

"No worries about that, Naruto just has a dislike for anything dealing with undead and spirits."

"Really? So Naruto's got a dislike for the undead huh?"

Naruto looked at Merrill and replied.

"Yeah I don't have a liking for the undead, is there a problem with that?"

"Not really, I'm just surprised, that you dislike the undead, I recall the time you tore apart that hellhound back in the forest with that spell you used, so I thought you'd have no problems dealing with the walking dead."

Naruto sighed, he was not going to go into details just yet and seeing as they were not going to get much out of the blonde ninja/mage they decided to let it be for the time being. The women then decided to go take a long bath, but all of them giving Naruto warning glares not to do something outrageous that was going to get him into a beating. However, as they left, the blonde had OTHER ideas.

Of course, the group never found out just what Naruto had in mind as the blonde ninja/mage had been able to find as he observed them while they were bathing.

--------

A day later…

Naruto whistled at the sight before him, the ruined temple was certainly on heck of a mess, there also pieces of the ruin everywhere on the ground.

"Now this one wrecked place."

Melissa then spoke to the three Priestesses.

"This ruin was already checked out and deemed to be safe, so there is no danger of traps or monsters, but it seems that evil took root here again. We're here to go and clean things up, are you ready for this."

"Yes Miss Melissa!"

As the four moved out, Naruto decided to hang back for a while, prompting Gamatatsu to speak to him.

"You sure we should let them go alone Naruto-san?'

"Yeah, this is supposed to be a training exercise for those three and we're here to support them if things get too rowdy. There is no sense not letting them learn the dangers they have to face when they became Priestesses of Mylee in the first place."

Genie and Merrill heard that and decided to hang back as well, they knew that as Priestesses, Melissa and the others could handle using their divine magic to destroy the undead through purifying their corrupt souls and sending to the afterlife. It was not long before the first wave of undead came on the scene.

Naruto gave a look of disgust as he looked at the shambling undead and pinched his nose at the stench coming from them, Gamakichi and Gamatatsu, being toads didn't smell things the way humans did, but they could tell from Naruto's expression of disgust that those odd looking humans smelled.

"Do they really smell that bad?"

Naruto replied to Gamakichi's question with a nod.

"Let me put it this way. You two are lucky you don't smell things the way humans do."

The four priestesses were doing all right but that was when a much larger wave of zombies came out of the ground, and seeing this, made Melissa realize that there must quite a lot down there in the ruins, and that was showing that the risk of going into the ruin was very high at this point. Genie and Merrill saw the mess and moved in to support Melissa but this time Naruto decided to get involved and so did Gamatatsu and Gamakichi.

The three got together as Naruto began to focus his wind chakra as he was behind both Gamakichi and Gamatatsu, while Gamatatsu gathered the oil in his body and added some more to boost the attack as he molded his Water Chakra, and Gamakichi readied his Fire Chakra. In that moment the massive zombie horde was before them, making the others wonder just what the three were doing. They got their answer as Naruto shouted out the combination jutsu.

"FUTON!!! GAMAYU ENDAN!!!!"

The two Toads unleashed their stored chakra as it was supported by Naruto's Wind Element chakra as a fine oil mist flowed before the horde of undead, which was rapidly followed by a massive blast of flames that quickly covered the zombie horde before them, the end result was one massive blast that incinerated the zombies instantly, turning the massive horde into pure ash in a heart beat. That was to the surprise of the women who were there to see the move. Melissa had never thought that she would ever see such a move before, and the same could be said to be in the thoughts of both Genie and Merrill.

Naruto moved away from both Gamakichi and Gamatatsu, as soon as the smoke came to his direction, the blonde Shinobi/Mage covered his mouth and nose with his coat as the stench hit him.

"Oh man….now that REALLY stinks…."

The others couldn't agree more, but at least the zombies were now dealt with. Joan, Janet and Anna made sure to avoid ever annoying the two Toad Summons. The group then moved on to the top of the ruins, but Naruto asked both Gamakichi and Gamatatsu to stay behind for the time being since their weight might make the ruin fall in on itself. The two Toads agreed while Naruto sent a pair of his Kage Bushin to scout ahead to be sure that they were not suddenly ambushed, as soon as his Kage Bushin poofed away, Naruto and the others moved into the ruin to see what else was going to be waiting for them.

As soon as they entered the ruin, Naruto knew that while this place was now cleared of traps, the time and weather that his this place would make this place a death trap then most, as he looked at the floor with his wand creating light, he ran his hands on the ground and felt the thick dirt there.

"Nobody's been here all right, that rules out the chance this whole zombie mess is the work of some mage with a twisted sense of humor or megalomania."

Merrill looked at the map and as she laid it on the ground, Naruto used his wand to light up the map while the others gathered around.

"This place has no traps since it was cleared already, but time and weather might have damaged the structure of the ruin, so we can't just go wandering about in here."

Genie grunted as she got her sword out, she had dealt with some areas filled with undead before and she knew that the very second they entered this place, the zombies would know where they are.

"That might be true, but we still have to clear out the rooms one by one of the zombies. It's best we move from room to room together, we'll need to protect Melissa and the other Priestess with our weapons. You're going to have to be the magical support on this one Naruto."

Naruto shrugged but he had a feeling that this ruin was going to be a problem, the Kyuubi was more than willing to lend a hand or rather a paw to keep his Jinchuuriki alive and breathing. The blonde then spoke mentally to his Bijuu.

(Any sign of trouble?)

(("Not at the moment kit, but the undead are a big time annoying bunch, they're not the full threat though, this entire ruin is one big death trap, the floor might be having weak areas and so could the roof so watch it."))

Naruto agreed as he looked through the room carefully. However as he moved through, Naruto felt the stones below his feet began to creak, he was confused at first at the sound but quickly realized what the danger was, he recalled that kind of trap in one of Orochimaru's hideouts that he, Jiraiya, and Sakura visited in Rice Country when they sought out Sasuke after his defection, with that in mind he stopped and turned to warn the others.

"Don't go…"

The warning came too late as Melissa moved forward and stepped on the same spot as he did and the stone finally gave way below them. Naruto had enough time to swear in his native tongue.

"Here we go again…."

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Both Naruto and Melissa fell through the massive hole that had formed below them as the others looked on and cried out.

"MELISSA!!! NARUTO!!!!"

--------

In the lowest part of the ruin.

"AAAAUUUGGGGHHH!!!"

The pile of rubble was blown apart as Naruto stood up and looked about, as soon as he got his senses back, the blonde Chuunin shouted in pain. In order to shield Melissa from injury, he dropped his wand in the same areas they were, he moved to quickly catch her in flight and use his own body to shield her from harm, he knew the stones falling below them would damage and destroy the floors below them, but the landing was going to hurt like hell, and he was right.

"OOOOWWWW! Now that hurt…."

He however pushed that aside, he spotted his wand which was not destroyed and picked it up to cast light once more and looked about to see just where he was as the Kyuubi began to heal his injuries, but then recalled the Melissa was with him and he looked to see that she too was already on the road to full recovery, though he needed to be sure she was all right.

"Melissa, you okay?"

The blonde priestess shook her head as she got up slowly on her hands.

"I, I think I'm fine, though I think I got some cuts."

"Let me see…"

Naruto looked at Melissa's hands as he jammed the end of his wand on a crack in the floor to stabilize it and look at the cuts, they were not too bad and didn't need treatment. He looked them over a bit more as he felt his body already healing on it's own and spoke to Melissa.

"You don't have any serious wounds, we'd better find a way out of here fast."

Melissa nodded at that, she needed to make sure that the young priestesses would be all right, she could never forgive herself if they were lost in battle.

"You're right….I'm ready, let's go Naruto."

Naruto shook his head to make sure that he was fully awake from the pain and managed to get his bearings. The two of them were getting ready to move on to find a way out but then the sounds of shambling feet came at them as well as a familiar stench, Naruto heightened the light and they spotted more zombies heading their way.

"Not these guys again!"

Melissa used her magic to destroy the zombies, but he spotted even more zombies coming into their direction, they apparently had landed in a massive zombie nest.

Melissa looked about and realized that things were getting bad.

Naruto looked about as more zombies were coming in, he then realized that unless they got some movement room, they were going to be surrounded, besides, the stench of the place meant that the chambers might be filled by strong gases that could be bad news if they were flammable. With that in mind he quickly placed his magic wand aside to his belt and turned to Melissa.

"Melissa! How much do you weigh?"

"What?! That's the worst question you can ask a woman Naruto!"

"I'm not asking it to make you angry here! How much do you weigh?"

"I don't know for sure, but I think I'm mid weight."

"Good enough! Whatever you do, try to hang on, we're going to need to move quick!"

Naruto quickly took Melissa into his hands, he then moved through the zombies, heading towards the wall, much to Melissa's surprise and before she could tell Naruto to stop, Naruto began to literally run up the walls of the ruin, heading for the roof, she looked and saw that Naruto's feet were covered with some sort of blue energy. Somehow this energy was helping Naruto stay on the wall. She had seen him use it before but she had thought that it was normally used only for combat purposes. Now it seemed that it was used for other purposes, as soon as the two were near the roof, Naruto spoke to Melissa.

"Now hold on real tight Melissa, and here's hoping you don't weigh as much!"

Melissa barely had time to react as she followed Naruto's command as he began to walk on the roof of the corridor! She hugged on tightly the blonde ninja /mage in fright, to the point that her hug in Naruto's mind would have given even Sakura a run for her money. He put that out of his mind as he ran on the roof, hoping that the rest of the roof was not as easy to collapse like this one, as soon as he reached the hole, he quickly summoned more of his chakra and leaped off the roof, grabbing the rim and hauling himself up and landing on his back, thankfully since he had left the Toad Summoning Contract with Gamatatsu and Gamakichi and it was therefore not lost.

"Oof!"

Melissa was still hugging Naruto tightly still shocked as she recalled that only moments before, she had seen her champion walk on walls and then on the roof of the ruin, she couldn't believe her eyes at those moments, by all rights what Naruto did would have been impossible, and she knew there and now that there was no magic involved, he used no magical incantations or words, and no way could he have used his wand when he lifted her….just what sort of person was her champion, could all ninjas do those things he had just.

Naruto opened his eyes and was granted the sight of Melissa hugging him tightly as well as feeling her form on his own, and while she was fully dressed and certainly in the same state as before when they met again in that ritual she was in at the Temple, he couldn't help but feel his body react to her presence, it was then Melissa looked right at him at that moment.

Melissa looked to see her face merely inches from Naruto's own face, this allowed her to see his eyes, as well as the rest of his features, she noted the whisker marks on his cheeks, and couldn't help but become curious at them when she first saw them, she was curious if they were tribal markings of some sort, but they were not paint at all. Not only that, she couldn't help but notice how well formed Naruto's features were when she was this close to him. In that moment, the blonde priestess began to feel something warm hit her body…

Naruto was getting a bit uncomfortable with the situation but not in a bad way, if they were not in the middle of a massive ruin filled with undead, this would have been something right out of the Pervy Sage's own novels. He shook that thought aside as he fought off the desire to blush at the feeling of Melissa on top of him as well feeling a certain pair of…

(Augh! Not now!)

"Uh….Melissa, not that I mind the situation or anything….but this is hardly the place for this kind of thing."

Melissa gasped and quickly got off Naruto and she placed her arms on her chest and replied in indignation.

"What are you implying?! I am NOT that kind of woman!"

Naruto knew that he had struck a bad chord on her and decided to get up and fix the situation before things got out of hand again between the two of them. As soon as he got up he spoke to Melissa in the best tone he could manage, though he had to admit that the prissy priestess had a very well toned form. Not to mention…

(Okay….best to avoid those thoughts for now!)

"Sorry about that, but I have to be honest about something, if we were not in this kind of place and in this kind of situation, then I would have enjoyed it."

Melissa blushed at that and Naruto decided to take out his wand and they found themselves in a much bigger room than before. He knew that this was not going to be an easy thing, there were a number of tunnels and passages and there was no telling how long they would be trapped here. It was then that he had an idea. He could use his Kage Bushin to scout out the area and find a way out of the mess they were currently in.

He then checked on Melissa to see if she had any new injuries. He knew that until he was sure that Melissa was all right they would have to fight their way through the zombies that infested the whole area.

"You all right Melissa? Do you have any new injuries?"

Melissa checked herself to be sure and nodded, apart from a few small smudges of dirt and some scratches on her clothes as well as her robe, she was fine.

"I'm all right."

"Good, I'm going to send my Kage Bushin ahead so they can find us a way out of here as well as avoid any more those pit falls, not to mention slow down any of those walking undead."

With that Naruto placed his wand on the ground and shouted out the command.

"KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!!!!"

In a moment, Naruto was surrounded by a large number of his kage Bushin and he quickly told his Kage Bushin to find the way out as well as locate the others to see if they were safe. The kage Bushin were then given several packs of glowing powder of different hues they were to make patterns in the stone walls with their kunai and rub those patterns with the powder they each had to mark the way out.

As soon as that was done, the Kage Bushin were dispatched through the tunnels as Naruto picked up his wand and turned to Melissa.

"We'd better get a move on to find the exit soon, or find out how many zombies or whatnot are in there."

Melissa agreed and off the two went with her hoping that the others were having better luck than they were at the moment.

--------

Genie and Merrill were able to fend off the next batch of zombies as the three Priestesses dealt with them using holy magic while the two massive toads Naruto summoned were able to easily bash them away with bullets of water as well as tongues of fire, the swordswoman had to admit that these, Toad Summons as Naruto called them were rather handy not just for their ability to use fire and water for attacks but their sheer physical strength as well. Merrill agreed at that assessment as well as she spoke to Genie as the next batch was soon dealt with. They had to leave since there was a chance that more would be in the area before them.

"Got to give these Toads credit, they certainly are good fighters."

Genie nodded at that as both Gamakichi and Gamatatsu looked on at the now defeated zombie horde.

"Yeah, so that scroll Naruto has been carrying all this time summons them huh? Makes me wonder why he never used them in all the times we've seen him carrying it."

Genie thought it over and gave her opinion.

"Maybe that technique or spell that uses that scroll must drain him of large amounts of his magic, so he reserves it for important situations. I've heard of some spells that require extreme caution to use when in battle after all, and some wizards or sorcerers use those spells as something of a last resort."

Merrill nodded at that.

Joan and her friends wished they could find Melissa but the zombies were too many for them to fight alone so they hoped that Melissa would be all right and that Naruto would keep her alive.

--------

Back in the ruins…

As they made their way to through the darkness with his wand lighting the way, Naruto was silent as he kept his senses on the alert, he knew for a fact that there was a chance the zombies would come out from the dark and attack them. As they moved on, Naruto turned to see how Melissa was doing, the priestess seemed to be all right at the moment but deep in thought, he then decided to speak to her, for now his Kage Bushin have reported nothing back to him through the mental link, meaning that they were not yet dispersed. He then decided to try to get to know her a bit more.

"So….how did you get involved with the Church of Mylee Melissa?"

Melissa sighed and replied.

"That's my business Naruto."

"Really? I remember that china set you brought with you before when we first started out, that set was only possible to acquire if you were nobility, from what I understand, nobles have all the advantages they could ask for since they were entitled to it by birth, so why would you decide to be a Priestess of Mylee?"

"You're not going to let this go?"

"If you don't want to answer my question then that's all right by me, I was just curious what there is to know about you if you and I are to help each other."

Melissa could tell that there was no malice in Naruto's question so she should at least answer him, after all, he wasn't insulting her or anything and wanted to know her a bit more. Besides, she just might find out more about her champion as Jenny suggested.

"I left my family behind because I didn't agree with something they planned for me, I knew that the only way to avoid the plan they had for me was to join the Church of Mylee, and besides, I always wanted to be a Priestess, to go see the world, go on adventures, be famous, and of course, be able to have a hero to be proud of, instead…"

"Instead of the knight in shining armor you dreamed of, you got me instead, am I right?

Melissa decided to be truthful at that.

"Yes, but I….I have to say thank you."

Naruto turned and gave Melissa a wide grin and an amused look, that naturally made Melissa even more curious as to why the blonde ninja/mage was giving her that kind of look.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing bad mind you, I'm just surprised you said thank you to me, what was it for anyway?"

"For….for paying the debts we had with the collectors, and we did find out that you paid them with your own money even if you really didn't need to do it, you made it a bit easier for us at the very least.."

"Oh that huh? You're welcome, I might not be a knight in shining armor Melissa, but at least my heart is in the right place."

Melissa had to agree with that to some degree but she decided to ask Naruto her own question, she vowed not to tell anyone her reasons and she still hadn't told Naruto just what that plan was that she disagreed to, but somehow Naruto managed to get a good deal out of her

"But what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Why are you a ninja? Surely your parents would have objected to you being a ninja. I know that you're not from my land but still…"

Naruto sighed and as he turned to look at Melissa, he had a pained look on his face.

"If you must know, I've always wanted to be a ninja since I was a kid as it was a good chance to really be able to be someone in my land. And besides that, both my parents were ninja too and they were the best in their time until my mother was pregnant with me, but they both died when I was born so I grew up an orphan for most of my life. In that regard you're lucky, you might not have agreed with your parents but at least you have them around."

Melissa was surprised by this and realized that while she wanted to avoid her family and the plans they had for her, they were still around at the very least. It was surprised her a great deal, Naruto usually seemed calm, relaxed, quick to laugh or do other things, but this was something that she never saw. He seemed different in this case, and for good reason as the death of his parents must have been hard for him.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"I know….I got to know who my parents were in the end and I'm happy to have been able to learn about them, maybe when this is over I'll show you a picture of them, but until we get out of here that's going to…."

Naruto stopped at that moment and his face became deadly serious, this was enough to make Melissa also wary as they heard the shambling moans that told them that company was heading this way. The blonde knew that using high level spells in such an enclosed location with a pretty unstable structure was out of the question, but at the moment he could use his normal spells as well as his sword. He knew that the best chance for them to fight their way out was for him to give Melissa the room needed to cast her spells.

He drew his sword and got ready to fight as he held his wand in one hand and his sword on the other as he spoke to Melissa.

"Get behind me Melissa, I'll give you time to use your magic so focus on that!"

Melissa nodded as she could see the there was logic in Naruto's actions as they began to fight their way through the zombies that came at them, Naruto used a number of low level fire spells, showing that he knew that fire was a good alternative if one didn't use divine magic when dealing with the undead, and his skill with the sword was not so bad either. All the while, Melissa was able to use her magic well in sending the zombies back to their eternal rest. Naruto then guided them through the area as they reached another chamber, it was then that Naruto stopped as he looked to see several paths with various patterns with glowing hues on them, he decided to rest for a moment as he felt the Kyuubi's chakra flow into him once more to make him recover. He waited and it was not long before he smiled and headed into a different direction where one tunnel had deep silver patterns.

"We're going this way Melissa, this is the best way out."

"How do you know?"

"My Kage Bushin mapped out the route before he poofed away so we can take this route as he found his way out to the sunlight. The others were not so lucky as they ran into either dead ends or had to disappear before they were overwhelmed."

Melissa was surprised, she had thought that the clones Naruto were able to make were just used for combat and distractions, she had no idea that they were used in such a fashion, as they moved through the corridor that was mapped out by the kage Bushin that found the way out, the blonde Priestess was getting tired as she had used up a good amount of her magic while Naruto seemed to be fine, as she panted, he decided to stop for the moment.

He moved to Melissa and saw that she was tired and needed a break.

"You all right?"

"I-I'm fine….just tired."

"Take your time, just a few more flights of stairs and a good dash through a pair of tunnels to the right and then straight ahead and we're out of here."

"How do you know that much from your…?"

"In the ninja lore, the Kage Bushin is used for recon work, since it's a real clone and not just a regular clone that doesn't move anywhere, it can move ahead of the real ninja and gather information as well as find weak spots in the defenses of a location, along with any traps. This allows the ninja to avoid being discovered and injured, as soon as the Kage Bushin disappears the knowledge it gains is then passed on to the real ninja. You understand it now Melissa?"

"I guess so…"

Melissa was impressed, she had no idea that it was actually used in that fashion, no wonder he had sent them ahead before they left the area. Maybe there was more to Naruto than she first thought. As soon as she got her energy back, they carried on with trying to find their way out by following the path made by Naruto's Kage Bushin, all the while destroying as many zombies as they possibly could.

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Later…

The two made it back out again without any more encounters with the undead, it seemed that Merrill, Genie, and the three priestesses were able to clear the area as well. It was a good reunion for all as the group had been waiting for hours for them to arrive, the ruin had a much lower number of zombies now and Melissa decided to advise Head Priestess Jenny to send in a group of her fellow priestesses to clear out the rest.

After he had told Gamakichi and Gamatatsu the whole situation, the two Toads were surprised that they were in a totally different world and there was no way for Naruto to get home just yet until he mastered the use of magic and found a way to open a portal for him to go back to Konoha. He asked the two to deliver a message to Konoha as well as the others who were no doubt looking for him, he wanted them to know that he was fine and was already working on trying to find a way back home.

As soon as that was out of the way, the Toads agreed to send the message to Konoha and then Naruto used his Senjutsu chakra to send them back to Mount Myobokuzan. As soon as he did so, he fell to the ground exhausted as he looked up into the sky.

"Man I am beat….using up all that chakra."

Melissa then walked over to Naruto and made the prayer to heal Naruto, much to the blonde's surprise, it seemed that maybe Melissa was not so bad after all. As soon as he felt fully healed he gave the blonde priestess a smile.

"Thanks."

Melissa nodded at that as she finished her healing, she had used up a lot of magic to deal with the zombies and she should have saved some more energy, but she decided to heal Naruto. While in truth that was not needed as the Kyuubi would heal Naruto the next day, the blonde Chuunin decided to not tell her about it for now. Maybe this partnership might work out after all.

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To be continued...

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Author's notes:

Well now, that should wrap this up well enough. Naruto and Melissa got some quality time alone no matter how brief to get to know one another a bit more, and that could help to make the relationship between them a bit easier to deal with. But as you can bet, this will not be easy for anyone just yet. The relationship between the three priestesses and Naruto is a bit different than before, but that certainly won't mean that it will be friendship right off the bat.

On the next chapter, we're going to meet a certain you know who and we'll see how Naruto deals with this pompous ass. Get ready for a very interesting bout in the arena!!


	7. Chapter 7

Rune Soldier Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Rune Soldier Louie so let's just leave it at that all right?

Chapter 6

Arena Spectacle

( ): Thoughts/Conversation with the Kyuubi

(( )): Kyuubi's voices

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In the city of Ohfun...

Naruto was currently having a light meal with Ila in their favored tavern as Ila played with a small amount of magic wood that she had purchased in the Magical Supplies area in the Merchant Quarter. At the moment the two were relaxing after another round of work, in Naruto's case, he was back to hitting the books, training in the Shinobi arts, and keeping his magical skills up. As for Ila she had been working on some new magical projects that had peeked her interest, as well as her desire to learn as much as she could about magic, the red haired magician then turned to her ninja companion and spoke as he was eating his food.

"So the mission in the ruins was all right?"

Naruto nodded at that.

"Pretty much, the priestess did well and Melissa's not so bad at the moment. Anyhow, what's been going on with you Ila-chan?"

Ila smiled at that and replied.

"My studies are going well, plus those projects I've been working on have really helped out a great deal in giving me the chance to put those lessons to good use. So how about you Naruto?"

"Hmmm….still doing well, though I still think that it will be a while before Melissa and her group get to trust me well enough."

Ila sighed at that and looked at her long time friend in the Academy, she could tell that despite his resistance to her actions, Naruto was attracted to her, and she was more than willing to do what she could to make him like her back. She was hoping to start planning out something at this moment.

That line of thought was broken as a number of people, namely the female patrons began to sigh and several male patrons began to gasp as a man walked in, no doubt wearing armor of some sort that made noise, this got the attention of both Naruto as well as Ila. Naruto was curious at this and decided to focus his attention on the new arrival.

The man wore silver plate armor and had some sort of cape on his shoulders, he had blonde hair that was long and well groomed, and Naruto had a feeling this guy would pass off as a salon and shampoo model back in his world, he had a sword there and had the classic good guy looks on him, this was the reason most of the women with the exception of Ila were sighing like giddy school girls.

(Why is this beginning to remind me of my Academy days again?)

Naruto however knew better than be swayed by good looks alone, that much he knew ever since dealing with some pretty guys in his time. He believed that as long as the warriors had the skills to go with the looks, then they were worth the time to admire. Despite his dislike for Sasuke, he knew that at least with his abilities, the guy was able to back up his words as well as the looks when the women back in Konoha used to swoon over his former team mate back in the Academy. Neji also was considered good looking namely by his team mate and girl friend Tenten and since his friend was Jonin he had the skills and ability to back up the looks.

There were other pretty boys in his world as well, such as Kimimaro, Haku, Temujin, Kakashi, and even Sai as well. Those guys in his world might have made women swoon with good looks, but unlike this peacock of a nut in armor, they had good substance in them to make them deadly fighters. This guy was stating to all that he was a true man and a gift to women everywhere, this made Naruto want to close his eyes and wish he was having a bad dream.

The man in question then spoke to them.

"Judging by your clothes, I can surmise you two are sorcerers?"

Naruto snorted at that and replied.

"This is the only tavern close to the Magic Guild's location you know, so it makes sense mages would come here for their off hours."

The guy ignored him and quickly directed his attention to Ila and gave her an arrogant smile and spoke in a very pompous air that made Naruto wish to submit him to the Thousand Years of Death attack to shut him up, he might even try sending the guy out of Ohfun using the chakra he had the same way Kakashi had done that jutsu on him when he met the Jonin in that bell test all those years ago. THAT was something he wanted to do to this guy considering what he was saying to Ila.

"I can see from your expression that you are taken in by this dashing knight of Ramliearth my fair sorceress, but I am afraid that my heart belongs to someone else, but I do not have any problem with you being taken by me, I am used to such actions..

Ila gave a look of confusion as well as disgust, in her mind, she already found a man worthy of her attention and that was Naruto himself, why on earth would she want this arrogant man in tin plates? However she did take notice of the sword he had with him and so did Naruto.

As for Naruto himself the idea of doing the Thousand Years of Death attack this arrogant knight to get rid of him at this moment was getting VERY tempting, but he focused on the sword as well as Ila did. There was something odd about that sword he was packing, and he had a feeling that this could be the key to figuring out this person.

It was then that this man asked directions to the temple of Mylee.

Naruto couldn't help but wonder why the nut would ask directions to the Temple of Mylee, did he know any of the Priestesses there? The moment he realized that the crazy loon had his heart set on someone in the temple he couldn't help but pray to the kami for the salvation of the woman in question.

Who among the Priestesses of Mylee in her right mind would be engaged to this nut?!

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In the Temple…

Melissa had just finished another sermon on the virtues of having a champion and being able to serve that champion. It had been trying since she recalled all the things that happened when she had Naruto as her champion, and while she did recall the things he did that went against all she had been able to read about valiant champions, but she then recalled the times he had been doing the right things and had to agree that maybe she could learn more about Naruto.

As the blonde priestess sat in the tall gazebo, she was greeted by Genie and Merrill and they talked about the only male member of their group. Merrill was the first to start out about Naruto and what he has done in the group.

"You know, I still might not like him, but he's certainly got some skills, no doubt being trained as an assassin helped in that. I've never seen anyone use that kind of magic before with the Toad Summoning bit not to mention the scrolls he uses."

Genie nodded and also spoke.

"True, not to mention I have yet to see him use that sword he has with him, those hand to hand combat skills he has certainly does not match any tavern brawler style I know of, though I still think they're no match for a skilled warrior with a well made and balanced weapon. Still I want to see what else he has under his sleeve as the old saying goes. If he can use that sword well, I might decide to change my tune."

Melissa nodded and thought about what Naruto said to her in the ruin when she asked him about why he became a ninja.

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Naruto: If you must know, I've always wanted to be a ninja since I was a kid as it was a good chance to really be able to be someone in my land. And besides that, both my parents were ninja too and they were the best in their time until my mother was pregnant with me, but they both died when I was born so I grew up an orphan for most of my life. In that regard you're lucky, you might not have agreed with your parents but at least you have them around.

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"I agree in that regard, maybe Miss Jenny was right about me having to take time to know him more, for one thing, I learned he was an orphan growing up."

The two were surprised by this as they had thought that Naruto had a family where he came from, they were about to ask for more details on the matter, until they heard Naruto's voice.

"Hey Melissa, you around?"

They turned to see Naruto as he was being accompanied by Ila, but then Melissa froze like a rock in horror as she spotted a certain armor wearing knight with blonde hair and a cape, the very second she recognized him, she began to speak out in shock and terror.

"I-It can't be!"

Genie and Merrill were shocked by this and wondered what had gotten into Melissa, they tried to find out what was going on before them and just where did Melissa know this particular person. Melissa however spoke slowly and then shouted out the name.

"Conrad?!"

"My darling Melissa!!! I have come for you!!"

Naruto and Ila looked on at what was going on before them as Conrad moved past them was before Melissa

Genie and Merrill were somewhat surprised by the whole thing going on before them as the new arrival. The two then spoke to each other at that moment.

"Who the heck is this jerk?!"

"Does Melissa really know this person?!"

The swordswoman then spoke to Naruto.

"Where did you run into him?"

"The prancing screwball here went into the tavern me and Ila-chan were sitting in and he was asking for the directions to the Temple of Mylee so we came here, don't blame me on this, I'm just as confused as you two are."

It was not long before Conrad began to spout all sorts of nonsense that had everyone, including Melissa in shock while Naruto spoke out first when he heard Conrad say something about some form of flowers that made no sense to him, while he considered flowers nice, the ones Conrad spoke of turned his stomach.. And that was saying something as it took quite a lot to turn Naruto's stomach of all things, one of the things that came close to doing just that was when he had to eat the food Fukasaku made for him when he was training in the Senjutsu Arts back on Mount Myobokuzan . To most that might seem odd, then again, they never had to eat cooked, stewed, fried, and boiled bugs and larvae before.

"Toilet Cockroach Flowers?! What the hell are those?!?!"

Conrad didn't seem to notice and continued to woe Melissa while the blonde priestess in question looked like she was either going to slap the man silly, hurl the contents of her stomach, stomp away like a mad bull, or wish she could just die and fade away on the spot. Naruto hoped she was not going to do any in any order. Merrill then spoke to him at this moment.

"I feel like I'm watching a bad play in Community Theater."

Genie nodded and she herself wondered what the heck was going on while Ila was trying her best not to hurl at the naturally odd way Conrad was acting, to think that this guy fancied himself as a knight, he resembled something out of a mental asylum.

As Naruto watched the while situation play itself out, he couldn't help but feel the urge to laugh, but he restrained it as best he could as he see that Melissa was not in the mood for jokes at her expense and if there was one thing his life had taught him, antagonizing a woman in a bad way was asking for a beating. He recalled how badly he got pummeled by Sakura on a few occasions as well as several other times as well. Besides that he had already began to make some progress in getting Melissa to trust him so he was not going to mess that up just because he found this whole thing somewhat funny.

However he would have to be a total blind man to not see the humor in this whole mess, here was a knight in shining armor before Melissa and instead of being happy to have one, Melissa was downright revolted. He had a feeling there was more to this that what he was seeing since there seemed to be some history between the two of them..

It was not long before the Kyuubi itself got involved. The demon fox looked at this man and despite the fact that it was a thousand year old demon entity; even it found this display rather disgusting by all standards.

((Kit….do you have any idea who this nut-job is?))

(Not a clue at all, though I can tell that Melissa knows him, though considering the way she's acting I think she wishes she hadn't.)

((That makes two of us then…something about that sword makes me curious.))

(You sensed it too?)

((Yeah, I got the feeling this loon is using some sort of magical artifact, though what that is I have no idea t that moment.))

The mental conversation between the two was suddenly broken when Melissa suddenly grabbed him by the arm and spoke to Conrad.

"You can go back to Ramliearth and find someone else Conrad!"

"What?! Why? Melissa, who is this sorcerer supposed to be to you?"

Melissa glared and replied.

"This is the man chosen for me to serve as my champion Conrad."

"What?! Impossible!!!"

Naruto was shocked by this sudden turn of events when Melissa grabbed him by the arm and he looked at Conrad who looked like his entire world was falling apart and, due to the conversation between him and the Kyuubi coupled with the memories of meeting people with over inflated egos he met over the years, he was unaware of the fact that this man was the reason Melissa had left her family in the first place to join the Priests of Mylee. He was her fiancé the same man that she was supposed to marry.

Naruto sighed and replied a bit at that.

"There's truth to that actually, Melissa was given a message by Mylee saying I'm the man she's supposed to serve as her chosen Hero….not that I have much choice myself at the moment. But I'm okay with it for the time…."

"No! This can't be! How can you pick him over me Melissa?! How can he compare to my good looks! My long legs, My ability to write poetry….he's just a commoner mage!!!!"

Naruto didn't know whether to cover his ears to tune out the racket of Conrad's ranting or beat Conrad senseless to shut him up as the man was insulting him as if he had a right to do that just because he was a knight of Ramliearth. But Naruto had no issue with this man and he was not going to let insults be the reason for beating up someone who was weaker than a hundred year old donkey.

"That is the truth Conrad, Mylee, The God of War gave me a divine message showing that Naruto Uzumaki is the man who is my Chosen Hero and as he is my Chosen Hero he is the man I will serve and no other."

Conrad was utterly stunned and looked as if he was going to commit suicide or something close to it.

"I hope that you will understand and find someone else to love you back in Ramliearth Conrad."

Naruto could tell however that this idiot was not going to back down without a fight, and sure enough, Conrad did not disappoint the ninja/mage.

"I WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS!!!!"

Conrad then turned to Naruto and pointed his hand at him.

"YOU! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL OF HONOR!!!!"

Naruto was surprised, this guy was asking him to take part in a duel?!

"What?"

"YOU HEARD ME YOU LOW BORNE PEASANT MAGE!!! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL OF HONOR FOR MY LOVE MELISSA!!!"

"Now hold on here, didn't you already get the hint that…."

"Naruto will accept this challenge. If you win in the battle then I will go with you to Ramliearth…and be your wife, but if he wins, then you will have to swear to leave me alone for all eternity."

That made the blonde Chuunin turn like a bullet and look at Melissa with an absolutely shocked expression. The ninja/mage took a second to or two to digest just what had happened and he was not liking the implications before him.

Melissa was about to say more but Naruto then spoke to her.

"I need to talk to you right now Melissa, and NO arguments."

Something about Naruto's voice told Melissa to do as he asked, as soon as they were some distance away from the others, Naruto turned to face Melissa and he had a very sour look on his face as he stared the Priestess.

"You want to explain to me exactly WHY you dragged me into this?"

Melissa then spoke seriously, the appearance of Conrad had rattled her greatly when she saw him, she had thought that leaving her family and becoming a Priestess would finally rid her of her unwanted suitor, but now it seemed that Conrad had found a way to bypass it and that was something outright frightened her. She managed to get her words into order and speak to her irate champion.

"You remember back in the ruins a few days before, when I told you that I left my family to avoid something they planned for me?"

Naruto thought about that and then recalled what the screwball knight had said, declaring Melissa as his bride to be, he quickly put two and two together and looked at her incredulously.

"Wait a minute...he's the reason you left your family?"

"Yes! They wanted me to marry Conrad when I was older, but the very second I saw him I despised him! He's so arrogant, snobbish, completely irresponsible, and worse, he's got the worst kind of vocabulary I have ever heard!"

The look of utter revulsion in Melissa's face as she spoke about Conrad was more than enough to tell Naruto that she's got a real axe to grind with this man, it confused him as to why didn't Melissa just said no to the whole thing. She was a member of nobility after all and had every right to say no to the whole thing.

"So why didn't you just put your foot down and said no to the whole thing in the first place?"

Melissa looked at Naruto with a look of sadness and replied.

"I tried! I tried to tell my father to call off the whole thing! But he insisted and nothing I said changed his mind. Conrad's family were very influential and there was not much my father could do match their standing in the society, so I decided to leave and become a Priestess of Mylee. Please Naruto, I can't have Conrad as my fiancé!! It's against my will!!!"

"So what exactly do you want me to do about it? Kill him in that duel or something?"

"NO!!!! Just fight him and defeat him so he can leave me alone!!!"

Naruto shook his head at this and rubbed the bridge of his nose, of all the things he could get himself into, being dragged into some sort of old romance gone wrong was the least of his worries. This whole mess was not his doing and yet here he was, being dragged into this whole mess by Melissa out of desperation, this seemed to begin to remind him of the time he and Kiba as well as Akamaru had to escort this one guy who had a very unhealthy obsession with a tea cup, that mission was a real pain since they were risking their lives for a guy who couldn't care less about them with the exception of the safety of the tea cup, this was beginning to remind him of that mission though that ended without too much trouble. He gave Melissa a glare at that point and spoke.

"Listen here Melissa, I did NOT agree to be stuck between the two of you on this plan of your respective fathers. And I certainly did not agree to fight Conrad for you at the drop of a hat. Can't you handle this one on your own? You're smart enough to figure something without dragging me into this aren't you?"

Melissa wished she could at this moment, but just as she was about to say anything else to try and convince Naruto to help fight in her name against Conrad out of desperation, the man in question barged in and spoke to Naruto with a direct challenge.

"You there! You may be Melissa's champion but when I show to the world that I am the better hero for Melissa, not you! Unless you accept my challenge for a duel I will expose you as nothing more than a fraud and a weakling for trying to take what is rightfully mine!"

THAT was enough to get Naruto really angry as he glared at the pompous idiot in the fancy armor, the blonde ninja/mage decided to give the blonde idiot a very serious glare and give him a fierce smile that was devoid of any pleasantness as he spoke very seriously.

"Let's get one thing straight Conrad, you remember those words you just said, because when I'm done with you…YOU are going to be the one leaving the arena in pieces. I accept your challenge Conrad so you better have an undertaker ready to take your measurements for your casket!"

Conrad didn't know why but he felt a slight shiver run down his spine but he put that aside and maintained his own appearance, he had every confidence he would have the advantage in the coming battle to win back his bride to be and replied.

"So be it! I will see you in a week sorcerer, and soon you will bow down to my superior skills!"

As Conrad left the temple grounds, the fact that they were in holy ground and near the Temple of Mylee was the only reason Naruto didn't just grab a kunai and shove it deep into Conrad's posterior AFTER subjecting him to the Thousand Years of Death. It took some effort for him to restrain himself as he glared deeply at Conrad, vowing to pound that arrogant ass into the dust for that insult. However, he did take the time studying this opponent of his to be sure that he was right in his suspicions, and sure enough, he was.

Melissa could see from Naruto's face that he was very much enraged, and she couldn't help but feel very worried by this, she had seen Naruto angry before, but this time he looked enraged enough to be able to kill someone, while she did despise Conrad deeply she was not angry enough to want the man dead, who knew what could be the ramifications of that if Naruto decided to murder Conrad. She saw that Naruto's eyes began to look a bit more….feral for some reason and that seemed to frighten her, she reached out and touched Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto…."

The blonde ninja turned at her and gave her a very icy glare. This lasted for a moment or two until Naruto spoke very seriously

"I was starting to trust you Melissa, and then you drag me into this?! You want me to fight a man without even giving me a chance to agree or not to the whole thing?!"

Melissa tried to speak but Naruto was not in the mood for a discussion, he was really irate at this moment, but managed to calm himself a bit. He then looked at Melissa seriously and spoke carefully.

"You are going to tell me everything Melissa, I want to know just what is it you dragged me into this, I DESERVE that much at least."

Melissa nodded, she acted out of desperation at this moment, and now she was starting to regret this whole thing in involving Naruto in this mess.

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In Genie's house the next day…

As soon as Naruto was informed of the whole debacle that led to Melissa leaving her family and joining the Priestesses of Mylee, he had to admit that there was some logic there, he recalled his mission escorting his favorite actress Yukie Fujikaze, only to find out that she was a real princess by the name Koyuki Kazahana. She was cold, bitter, and also emotionless, until the truth came out as to what had happened when she was a young girl when her uncle led a revolt that killed her father. She had changed ever since they had been together, him protecting her and all. At the end of it, she became the leader of her Country and supported his drive to be Hokage someday. He couldn't help but smirk a bit as he still had that picture of him recovering in bandages in a hospital being kissed by her.

Of course she and Melissa were different in their problems, but even Koyuki-hime would have run away if she had been forced to marry someone like Conrad.

"All right, I can understand why you want to avoid marriage with him, so just HOW good is this guy anyway?"

Genie wanted to know that as well since she was curious just what that nut was capable of. However Melissa replied with a very confident smile on her face.

"I have no doubt that you can beat Conrad Naruto."

"Oh really? Is there something you're not telling us?"

Melissa filled them in and that was enough to convince Genie and Ila, Naruto however just kept his cool and focused on what he had already observed concerning Conrad. It was then that Merrill burst into the house, panting and out of breath.

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Later…

"Are you sure Merrill?!"

"I'm positive Melissa! Conrad took those four thieves out with only one strike with his sword, I'd say that he'd be able to give Genie a good test with weapons training. And I can bet that he might even give Naruto a challenge."

This was something that Melissa was shocked about

Naruto however was very intent on finding out as much as he could as he spoke to Merrill about what exactly was it that she saw Conrad do, this was the right time to see if his suspicions and no doubt Ila' own as well about the sword Conrad had with him.

"Did Conrad say anything in particular before the fight between him and the thieves?"

Merrill thought about it and replied.

"I heard him say something before the fight started and just when he took out those thieves with that sword of his, let me think, it sounded like 'It's time you and I dance together, shall I lead?' or something like that. That's about it, though I swear I saw something glow in the hilt or that could have just been the light of the moon on the sword."

The blonde ninja/mage nodded and turned to Ila.

"That particular phrase sounds familiar doesn't it Ila-chan?"

Ila nodded at that as she finally got the idea on how Conrad was able to beat those men, all the while Melissa seemed very worried by all this and Merrill spoke to Naruto.

"Conrad's no pushover Naruto, but now he's not someone to look down on in my mind, and yet you don't seem to be the least bit worried

Naruto snorted and replied.

"I'm not the least bit worried about that."

Merrill looked at Naruto with some surprise as he seemed to be totally unfazed by what she had seen Conrad do with those thieves, she had seen that man fight with the same level of skill as Genie. She recalled how easily Naruto had fought with her and Genie before, but the rules of a duel dictated that he fight with swords and without magic along with his hand to had combat moves, in her mind this placed Naruto in a serious disadvantage.

"Are you sure? You sound confident Naruto but like I said, this guy might not be a pushover you know."

The blonde Chuunin snorted and replied.

"I was able to study him when he entered the tavern where me and Ila-chan was sitting in minding our own business, you saw that sword of his Ila-chan?"

Ila nodded as she recalled seeing Conrad's sword.

"It was a well crafted blade but now that we know just what sword it is, we can bet that he's not a real threat in himself."

."That's very true, if he was a real warrior as he claims, he would never resort to using that kind of sword....not to mention that guy stumbled in the temple grounds as well as in the tavern when we met him when he walked away, both those times told me a lot more about him as well."

Genie raised an eyebrow at that and asked the blonde Shinobi/Mage what exactly he was trying to point out about Conrad.

"What does his stumbling about have to do with your doubts about his ability as a knight?"

Naruto looked at Genie with a raised eyebrow and explained.

"You saw the kind of armor he was wearing right Genie?"

"Yeah, it was heavy plate armor, commonly used by knights, what about it?"

"The only way someone could wear that kind of armor and move around with it without much difficulty is that someone in question is one with exceptional physical strength, stamina and endurance. When he stumbled in both those times it would have been easy for him to be able to stand up and move on without any difficulty, but he stayed there for a few moments as if trying not to fall down, and it took some effort for him to stand up again. That is not the way a person who is physically able to wear plate armor should act....unless he has something to hide."

Genie thought it over and wondered if Naruto was right about that, she had seen him stumble before and that was something that seemed a bit odd though she placed that aside, she had worn armor before in the past when she was a soldier of Ohfun before and had stumbled more than once until she developed her body's muscles to handle the extra weight. But now that Naruto brought it up….

"So you're suggesting that Conrad's wearing the armor for show?"

"Yep, remember that after that idiot began to run away from us in the temple grounds, he began to walk right afterwards and when he ran when he saw us looking at him? If he DID have the physical abilities to wear that armor, why walk? Sure you can get tired after a while but he should have made it out of our sight and he had no problem getting back his energy."

Melissa thought about that and then began to recall that she had seen the same thing as well. She then began to suspect something and turned to Naruto as she spoke to find out what he was going at.

"Are you suggesting that Conrad is somehow cheating in some way Naruto?"

The blonde ninja nodded at that as Ila turned to speak to him.

"We might know the kind of sword he's using Naruto, but there is still the question of what are you going to do about it, that weapon can hurt you if you let it you know?"

Naruto grinned and replied.

"Conrad thinks he's all that, I'm going to prove him wrong in the best way possible and I'm going to make him wish he never picked a fight with me of all people. I can handle this fight all right Ila-chan so don't worry about the whole thing."

"Naruto...."

Naruto turned to Melissa and replied to her soon to come request.

"No, I'm not going to kill him if that is what you have in mind Melissa, I'm just going to give him a real good beating as well as try to pound some sense in that empty head of his. I doubt it will work at all anyway, since he might come back again to annoy us all, but I have no doubt I'll have some amount of entertainment beating the stuffing out of him every chance I get."

Merrill then spoke.

"You do know that if you're wrong, he could be a lot more than you bargained for."

Naruto laughed at that a bit and replied.

"No need, compared to some people I know back in my land, this Conrad's about to get a serious lesson in humility. My friend Rock Lee and his sensei Gai might be off the wall with their antics at times, but compared to Conrad, those two are absolute warriors instead of peacocks like Conrad, and they have both the abilities and all the right moves to be at the top of their game."

Melissa however had to ask.

"Do you know how to use a sword Naruto?"

Naruto decided to be truthful and replied.

"Yeah, I have some good skills with the sword that I have despite the fact I limit my use of it since I only need it if the situation calls for it, I might be a bit rusty, but I am good in using a sword in combat."

Melissa sighed a bit at that but Genie was not entirely convinced.

"I don't want to rain on this parade, but until we get to see your sword skills in action Naruto, I don't think you can take this Conrad lightly even if he is cheating in some fashion. Besides, the rules of the duel arena state that you can fight with swords only, I doubt magic or those…hand to hand attacks of yours will work."

Naruto grinned and replied.

"I am a ninja remember? And like any good ninja I keep my skills with weapons a secret until the right moment. Conrad might think he's got all that, but compared to some of the weapon masters I know of in my land and in other places I've been to, he's nothing but a novice. He'll be in for a surprise that he is bound never to forget, that much I can promise you."

"But Naruto…."

Naruto looked at Melissa and replied as he stood up.

"Melissa, you said to Conrad that I am your Chosen Hero right?"

"Yea I did."

"And you don't doubt Mylee at all right?"

"No…"

"Then you will have to trust me here and now."

"But…."

Naruto looked at Melissa seriously and spoke once more, being serious about this.

"You trust Genie and Merrill since you've worked with them for years, but here, they can't help you, only I can, and you will have to trust me on this one. Besides, when I make a promise, I keep it as it is my way of the ninja."

"So…do you trust me in that I will beat Conrad in five days time or not?"

Melissa wanted to say something at this moment, but Naruto was right, he was the only one who could stand a chance in this fight if he was wrong with his thoughts on Conrad's abilities, there was no way Genie and Merrill could interfere in any fashion, However, she began to think of what she had seen Naruto already do, while she still doubted Naruto's abilities in hand to hand combat and his supposed sword skills, the stuff she had seen him do, and what she was told by Head Priestess Jenny told her that maybe it's about time she trusted her hero the way she should.

"I trust you Naruto."

Naruto smiled warmly at that and nodded.

"Then that's all that matters, I'll be training with my Kage Bushin for the next few days, and when this duel is over between me and Conrad, you might get your own personal scroll Melissa. See you all later."

Naruto left, leaving Melissa to think about her decision, Genie hoped that Naruto's thoughts on the matter concerning Conrad were right on the target board. As for Merrill her mind was already on how she could get the most profit out of this situation that they were in.

--------

Naruto began to train with his Kage Bushin and decided to follow the rules of the arena, just to prove that he was a man of his word, unlike Conrad who he already knew was cheating like mad. Though he still favored his other abilities, as well as his Taijutsu and Ninjutsu training which suited him more, he had been busy perfecting his skills in Kenjutsu, or in this case the art of the Sword, he had trained with a number of weapons already but chose to use the chokuto sword that that Jenny had fashioned for him.

The sword resembled Sasuke's own version of Orochimaru's sword the Kusanagi, but unlike that sword or Sasuke's Naruto had fashioned his to use his chakra and over time he had recalled Sasuke's own style of using the sword, plus the styles used in this world that he had seen as well as the styles he had seen in his world.

This allowed Naruto to be able to fashion his own style of combat with swords that he added to his already existing abilities, besides, while there was no doubt in his mind that magic was out of the question, that certainly didn't mean chakra was out or any of his ninja skills.

As he made his Kage Bushin to begin his training for a week before the coming duel, he couldn't help but grin as he had a special jutsu that worked with kenjutsu that he wanted to try out, and poor Conrad was going to be the lucky or rather unlucky test subject.

He was going to enjoy this…

--------

Conrad however was utterly confident of his victory over Naruto that he began to start preparing to smear the name of the ninja/mage the best way he knew how, as he got ready for the duel he had no doubt that his victory was assured, after all, he was a nobleman warrior while Naruto was a lowly sorcerer.

He had no idea just how wrong he was!

--------

In the arena five days later...

As soon as the day arrived, just about everyone in Ohfun turned in to the arena to see the soon to come battle between Conrad and Naruto , in that same day, Merrill was making a killing selling tickets and taking bets on the outcome between Naruto and Conrad, many of the crowd supported Conrad and were betting that the handsome knight would win the day over the sorcerer who stole his beloved from him, there was no doubt that Conrad had been busy fanning the fires in Ohfun for the past few days to get the crowd on his side. Some however who knew Naruto, including a number of his fellow magicians were betting on his success, along with a number of the tavern owners who knew Naruto well. However, the vast majority of the people were on Conrad's side and were more than happy to spread the rumors Conrad made about Naruto.

Naruto heard about it and cared less for it, to him, the cheers of the crowd that saw him win in battle with Neji in the Chuunin Exams back in Konoha as well as the cheers given to him by his village's residents after the battle with Pain, then with Madara, Danzo, and Sasuke were far better than the cheers given to an obvious fake since those cheers he got were genuine and not false. He cared less also for the bad mouthing that Conrad's supporters aimed at his direction, since he was keen to prove them all wrong about Conrad. He relished the thought of just how he was going to have fun with the coward at this day.

As he was waiting in the area, Ila arrived along with Master Carwess and Jenny. The two senior members of both the Magic Guild of Ohfun and the Church of Mylee then spoke to Naruto who was currently cleaning his sword with a cloth to make sure there was nothing to inhibit his ability to draw his sword.

"Greetings Naruto, are you ready for this coming battle?"

Naruto smiled and nodded.

"Yep, this fight is going to be rather interesting, but I have confidence that I can win this fight."

Carwess however spoke to Naruto.

"You seem to know something about Conrad that no one else does, what is it Naruto."

Naruto looked at Ila and both of them nodded and filled the two in on what was going to happen, what the two told Carwess and Jenny was more than enough to get them worried for Naruto, Jenny couldn't believe that the man who had challenged Naruto to this duel of honor was himself an honor-less man himself while Carwess also showed his dislike for the situation as he thought that someone like Conrad who was a knight had much better sense than this. Not to mention they had heard the rumors that Conrad had spread into the city and they were not happy with it either.

"This is nothing more than a sham! I should put a stop to this at once!"

"I agree with Master Carwess Naruto, this man is lacking in ANY form of honor and integrity and should be banned from ever being a knight."

Naruto however spoke gently to his trusted friends and surrogate family in this world.

"Don't call it off Carwess-sensei, Miss Jenny, this match should not be called off merely because Conrad is going to cheat."

Jenny was curious as to why Naruto insisted that the fight push through despite the fact that Conrad was already cheating and spreading false rumors about him. The same could be said for Carwess and Naruto could see that and replied.

"I told Melissa to trust me to beat Conrad, the one issue I have with Melissa is that she can't trust me because I am a ninja and I don't fight the way she expects a hero to fight, she thinks that I should fight like a knight and all. But now I told her to trust me that I will beat Conrad in my own way, and despite her problems, she decided to trust me, that means a lot to me, it means that I can prove to her that while I am not the hero she dreamed of, I can be the hero that she will need. Besides that, I am going to prove to everyone here in Ohfun that just because a man wears shining armor, carrying a sword, riding a horse and looking like a god, he is NOT a hero or a kind hearted man, it's time the people learn to see beyond the good looks and more to see just who the real person is underneath the armor."

The two thought it over and nodded but Carwess made it clear to Naruto about the ramifications of his decision to continue the fight.

"All right Naruto, but remember that you will not be allowed to use magic in this duel."

Naruto grinned and replied.

"No problem, besides, I will be using my chakra at some point and as far as I know, Conrad said nothing about any rules in this fight so I have free reign."

Carwess and Jenny shook their heads and grinned a bit, the Magical Negation Bracelet that would be used in this match was not used to stop chakra since it was not arcane in nature, technically Naruto was already cheating, but considering the fact that Conrad was cheating in spades already, Naruto was not cheating by a long shot.

It was not long before the whole arena was full to the brim and therefore the battle was about to begin, both fighters were to get ready to

--------

In the arena…

As soon as Conrad walked into the arena, his supporters were cheering him on while the men were eager for him to win back his beloved from the foul sorcerer. The women were dying for the scene of the heroic Conrad defeating the foul sorcerer Naruto and claiming the bewitched woman of his heart and going off to be married. This was something Conrad no doubt had been working on for the past five days when he should have focused on figuring out how to beat Naruto, he was so wrapped up in the applause that he hammed it up, making more of the women in the crowd cheer him own.

However, not ever woman was on Conrad's side as a number of people who were a mix of merchants, tavern owners and guards who worked with Naruto were in the mood to greet the young mage, not to mention a number of students of the magic Guild who were friendly with Naruto were also around to cheer him on, and of course, Melissa, Merrill, and Genie were there along with Ila, they however were not alone as three young priestesses talked to one another.

"Do you really think that Naruto's a bad person?"

Joan asked her comrades and Janet replied.

"I don't think so….he certainly doesn't act like it in my point of view."

Anna then replied.

"I guess we can watch, it would be something of great interest to see how good Naruto really is without magic right?"

The other two nodded while Melissa spoke to Ila.

"Is Naruto ready for this?"

Ila nodded.

"You bet he is, he's more than ready for this fight, plus I have no doubt he has a to expose Conrad for the fake he really is. You might have fun with this as well Melissa."

Melissa hoped that Naruto would keep his promise to win against Conrad, so much for her sake rode on this battle. She wished she had never placed Naruto in this mess since he was very much angry at the whole thing, but he wanted to trust him and she decided to trust him at this moment, she waited as Genie and Merrill were also ready to see the battle unfold before them the swordswoman wondered just what kind of skill Naruto had with a sword.

It was then that Naruto walked out, still dressed in his usual attire but had left his Toad Summoning Contract scroll and wand behind and only had his sword on his back as well as his pouch on the back as well as his kunai holster. The very second the blonde ninja/mage appeared into the battle field of the arena, Conrad's supporters in the crowd began to boo and hiss at him, calling him all manner of names that were not the least bit friendly.

Naruto ignored them all, except the cheers of the group of people he could consider friends and comrades, those cheers mattered more to him than the boos and hisses made by those who were being done by supporters of the fake knight he was about to fight. As soon as they were facing one another it was then that Jenny began to speak the ancient rites to start the match and allow Mylee to look favorably on the battle before them all.

All the while Melissa looked at Naruto, hoping that he would win, and would keep his promise to her to defeat Conrad without killing him.

Jenny noted that as she finished the rites and smiled a bit as she nodded to Carwess and silenced the crowds.

(You're going to learn more about Naruto than you know Melissa, be ready for a ride, he might not be the hero you dream of, but he is a hero already, he is a legend in his world, and I have no doubt he will be a legend here as well.)

Carwess then took into the arena a sating cushion with what appeared to be bracelets, these were easily recognized by Naruto as Arcane Negation Bracelets, these were similar to the same ones he had been slapped with before, but these were designed to stop a spell cold, dispel it and also shock the person from using magic of any form.

Carwess then spoke to all involved including him and Conrad.

"This is a duel of honor and will place the two contestants if a battle where their skills with the sword, physical strength, endurance, and stamina will be the deciding factors in this battle. Since both combatants are skilled in the ways of magic, these will serve to restrict any form of magic to be used in this battle, refusing the placement of the Arcane Negation Bracelet in this match is an automatic forfeit of the match. Do you accept these terms Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto nodded, he had promised to Melissa he would win and as a future Hokage, he keeps his promises as long as he could manage this.

Carwess smiled at that slightly and placed the bracelet on his student.

--------

Melissa gave a sigh of relief at the way Naruto accepted the bracelet. He made a promise to her to beat Conrad if she trusted him, and it seemed he was keeping his promise.

--------

Carwess then turned to Conrad and spoke.

"Sir Conrad, do you accept the bracelet and the terms of this duel?"

Conrad gave his best smile and replied as he extended his own arm.

"I accept this bracelet to prove that I have long since given up the ways of magic and I will fight with all the skill and gallantry of a knight of Ramliearth and Melissa's TRUE chosen hero as well as her true husband to be!!!"

The supporters of the man cheered while Ila however snorted, and even both Carwess and Jenny gave slightly hard looks at the man in question.

Naruto mentally snorted at Conrad's declaration.

(Yeah, you won't need to use magic Conrad, since you already HAVE a source of magic that cannot be restrained by the bracelet…but we're about to see just how good a fighter you really are once I put my plan in motion.)

Naruto growled at the pompous actions of Conrad and replied.

"Hey pretty boy! Why don't you do less flapping of your tongue and get serious here?"

Conrad snorted and ran his hand through his hair once more and spoke in that same arrogant tone.

"That is yet another sign of my superiority of being Melissa's true hero and champion mage, I relish the art of being poetic in battle to inspire…."

Naruto however had enough of the noise and decided to do something about it as he took out his sword but left the blade in the sheath and had secretly locked the sheath into place to keep the blade from getting released, the sheath was specially made with light but highly durable alloys and specially treated and fire hardened wood s it was more than able to take heavy punishment, just the kind of punishment he wanted to inflict on Conrad.

He then pointed the sheathed weapon at Conrad and replied.

"Rule 1 in battle Conrad,, there are only two kinds of people who waste their time yapping in the battle field, the idiot, and the corpse…which are you?"

Conrad then replied as he drew his sword at Naruto, unhappy with his words.

"Very well then, since you dare to mock my talents, I shall fight you now, but why is your weapon sheathed still? Do you think you can beat my skills as a knight without showing steel?"

Naruto sneered at Conrad and replied.

"The only time you will ever see my sword's edge is when you prove to me you can actually fight with that weapon you carry around."

Conrad glared and replied.

"Very well then, you shall regret those words Sorcerer, for it is time that you and I dance together, shall I lead?"

Naruto snorted and saw the gem glow and he replied as he quickly spun his sheathed sword and held it by the handle in a reverse grip.

"Then you should know something Conrad…"

Before Conrad could reply, Naruto closed the gap and used the flat side of his sheath to move aside the sword and then he lashed out with a strike to the sword arm on the elbow, making Conrad cry out in pain as he reflexively lowered his sword arm, this allowed Naruto to close in the gap and then swing his sword to Conrad's face, whacking the handsome idiot hard on the cheek, Naruto then moved back, aimed the sheathed blade tip at Conrad and struck twice, once between the eyes and then to the chest in rapid succession, forcing Conrad back and the Naruto attacked with a powerful reverse moving overhead swing with his still sheathed weapon in a reverse grip in his left hand striking Conrad on the shoulder once more as the knight staggered back as the blonde ninja/mage finished his sentence.

"I'm a lousy dance partner."

--------

Gasps of shock where heard as everyone saw something they had never thought they would see, a mage beating a knight….with a sheathed sword?!

Genie was flabbergasted at the sight before her and so was Merrill and Melissa, with the exception of Jenny and Carwess as well as Ila.

(How did he attack that fast?! And hit that hard with a sheathed sword?!)

--------

Conrad shook his head as the pain from the attacks hit him, he then glared darkly at Naruto and shouted as he readied himself.

"You dare to mar my face?!"

Naruto spun his sheathed weapon in his hands in a very skilled display, tossed it up and caught it in a reverse grip with his right hand, pointing the sheathed tip at Conrad.

"Hah! Conrad, I think that you should keep in mind that I am using the sheath of my sword to cover the blade, if I did strike you with the full blade you would already be dead!"

"Why you!!!"

Conrad attacked once more as Naruto moved through the attacks with patience and grace as he continued to smile arrogantly at the angry knight, Conrad might resemble a force of nature with a sword to the others, but Naruto was different as he moved quickly and carefully, finding the areas in which to move to avoid the attacks thrown at him by Conrad.

Conrad tried to attack with an overhead side slash but Naruto rolled forward past Conrad and whacked him with his sheathed sword on the back of the head. This enraged the blonde knight as he turned to attack, planning to cut the ninja in half, but Naruto merely flipped over him and Conrad tried to attack with another slash as soon as Naruto landed, the blonde ninja leaned backward with amazing grace, a result of his intense training in the arts of the ninja, avoiding the strike and then moving forward as Conrad tried to recover and whacked Conrad on the stomach and then reversed his grip on the sword and sent the weapon's sheathed blade slamming tip first into Conrad's jaw.

"AAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!"

Conrad backed away as Naruto moved his still sheathed sword to his left hand. The blonde knight growled and spoke in venom coated tones.

"You foul sorcerer! How dare you strike me in such a cowardly fashion?!"

Naruto laughed at Conrad and replied with his hands outstretched and replied.

"Temper, temper, I was under the impression that a knight would be able to keep his temper in check…besides, if I was using my sword without the sheath covering the blade right now, I could have easily sent my sword deeply into your skull through your chin and turn you into a knight shish kabob. If I can do all that to you with my sword sheathed, what do you think would happen if I unsheathed my sword and did those same moves on you all over again?"

--------

Genie had to agree with Naruto as she looked on, fascinated by the way Naruto was fighting with his still sheathed sword. She had never seen a sword being used while the sheath was covering the blade yet Naruto seemed very skilled with it, had he used the sword without the sheath, Conrad could have been killed a hundred times over!

Merrill was stunned and so was Melissa, Anna, Joan, and Janet were awed by that sight before them.

--------

The battle went underway with Naruto continuing to goad Conrad on while avoiding the Knight's attacks with his sword as the blonde ninja/mage dodged and weaved his body to the moves made by Conrad. The knight tried a powerful stab but the blonde literally split downward, shocking the audience and Conrad as well, that was enough for Naruto to lash with the tip of his sheathed blade on Conrad's wrist to move the blade as from him as he quickly spun his legs in a very acrobatic display none had ever seen before as it created a dust storm that blinded Cinrad as well as hid Naruto. (1)

As soon as the dust settled, Naruto reappeared still spinning his whole body until he was on his toes the blonde pushed himself forward and sailed over Conrad but not before placing his sheathed sword before Conrad's face and watched him right at the throat making the blonde knight cry out in shock at the attack and he nearly fell over as Naruto moved the blade away and then landed on his feet and pushed his sword backwards with the tip hitting Conrad right in the back, and the tip of the sword was right there the heart would be.

Naruto grinned as he gave a nudge to help Conrad get back on his feet and the blonde Shinobi/Mage laughed as Conrad turned to face him, he face twisted in absolute fury.

"Confounding coward!!! Fight me like a real man!!!"

Naruto snorted and dared Conrad to strike him, the blonde knight roared as he attacked, Naruto once more goaded him on as he avoided the attacks and then moved in as Conrad tried to stab him, but Naruto used his sheath to hit the flat side of the sword and move it aside, allowing him to strike Conrad at the armpit, Naruto the moved backward, and suddenly thrusting forward stabbing the tip into Conrad's throat, choking the knight and then following with a hard whack on the stomach region as he then leaped over Conrad and turned to deliver a hard strike to the back of the head, making Conrad stumble again.

Naruto taunted Conrad once more.

"Come on Conrad, you said you easily defeat me, a lowly mage. Yet here I am twisting your boxers around and making you look like the proverbial jackass!"

"HOW DARE YOU?!"

Naruto however knew that now was the right time to expose Conrad and with that in mind, he placed his sword back into his belt at the back and gave Conrad a smile.

"All right then, how about you take your best shot right her, I won't dodge or block at all. Let's see you try and take me out now you fake knight."

--------

Melissa was shocked by this sudden turn of events and tried to tell Naruto to not do it, and both genie and Merrill thought that Naruto had lost his mind!

"What in the name of the Gods is he doing?!"

"Has he lost his mind?!"

.Ila however turned and replied.

"Relax, Naruto would never expose himself like this unless he has a plan. He said for you to trust him, so trust him now."

--------

Conrad roared at that and charged at Naruto who seemed to still taunt him with his smile, he had no idea why the blonde mage was doing this, but will pay!!!!"

"DIE!!!!!"

The knight struck and the sword buried itself deeply into Naruto's side and the crowds gasped and Conrad smiled in triumph, he had won!!!

Naruto however grinned at him, not showing any sign of pain and replied.

"Not bad….you finally got a hit, but I hate to spoil your happiness, but you failed."

Before Conrad could reply, Naruto poofed away….revealing a neatly dissected log before the shocked Conrad. The crowds were stunned by this sudden surprise, they had thought that Naruto had lost his mind and was committing suicide when he allowed Conrad to slash him like that but now it seemed that Naruto was not there at all!!!

--------

Melissa and her friends as well as Joan, Janet and Anna were surprised to the core at this, what the heck had just happened?!

--------

Conrad looked at the log with shock, he looked to see that his word had no blood and he shouted out.

"WHAT MANNER OF FOUL SORCERY IS THIS?!"

It was then that Naruto spoke.

"Sorcery? You've got it all wrong Conrad, I'm still here in this ring, and I have to admit you look like you've seen a ghost or something, you forgot to take your iron again, I suggest you cut down on the pastries and try eating some proper health food, it would do wonders for your body."

Conrad looked about and shouted once more.

"SHOW YOURSELF?!"

"Why are you shouting so much? I'm still here and no, this is no spell, if it was, the bracelet would have shocked me and deactivated the spell. You really should stop shouting Conrad, you're going to break your voice doing that. Though I wish you will do that so I don't have to listen to your oh so annoying voice.""

Conrad looked about to find Naruto and deal with him, but for some reason he couldn't find the blonde champion of his beloved Melissa and it was getting his nerves as he looked at the cut tree log before him.

"Come on out sorcerer and fight me like a real man!!! Or are you a coward?"

"Coward am I?"

--------

The others wondered just where Naruto was at the moment and they tried to locate him, but Ila knew that Naruto was there, he used this trick on Foltess more than once when he was being annoyed by the Academy teacher. And he used this to play hide and seek with her when they were still fellow students, she never could figure out how he did it, but she found it to be fun.

Genie was confused, Naruto's voice was there but he wasn't, something was not right at the moment in her mind. Merrill looked about and was also as confused as her and Melissa.

"Where the heck did that blonde mage go?!"

Genie was also curious as to what was going on as she scanned the area to look for Naruto. There was no doubt that he was in the arena as his voice was clear and strong, but if this was not a spell, then what was it.

Melissa was also confused, Naruto was there but not there. If this was not magic, then could it be?

Ila however replied.

"He's around, he should surprise Conrad soon enough."

--------

Naruto decided to let Conrad vent things out and then he decided to end the charade as Conrad's words were getting annoying.

"All right Conrad, you want to know where I am?"

"Yes you coward!"

"Fine then, I'm right underneath you....DOTON!!! SHINJU NO ZANSHU NO JUTSU!!!"

Conrad barely had time to react when Naruto's hands came right under his feet and grabbed him and dragged him down to the ground in a shower of stone and dust and when that cleared, there was Conrad in the ground, with only his head on top of the ground and his sword on the ground.

"What the?!"

It was then that a patch of ground moved and was actually cloth and when it was thrown aside and there was Naruto who moved out of another hole, grinning like a happy monkey. He used an old favorite of his back in the Academy which was the Cloak of Invisibility Technique, it was very basic, but if there was one thing Naruto knew to be true, basics were the foundation of every successful ninja. Plus while it had taken a while for him to master that jutsu of his late sensei Kakashi, he found it very useful and this was very interesting to see.

He had also used the same jutsu that Kakashi had pulled on him before when he had managed to restrain the Jonin with his Kage Bushin and it was the Kawarimi No Jutsu.

The blonde Shinobi had planned everything from the get go, when he had done the spinning to create the dust storm, he had been able to use the Kage Bushin No Jutsu to have one Kage Bushin take his place in the arena while quickly covering up the hole with the cloth and supporting it with some heavy earth, the hole was big enough for him to make another Kage Bushin who dug his way to where Conrad was going to be quickly, guided by the Kage Bushin who turned into a log after being struck by Conrad.

Naruto remained in the hole to goad Conrad a bit more and then used the second kage Bushin to do the Shinjuno Zanshi No Jutsu on Conrad. And it seemed his plan had worked perfectly.

--------

Melissa and the others were wild eyed at this, what sort of spell was this one?! Even Ila herself was surprised by what she had just seen, while Jenny and Carwess smiled at the sight as Naruto seemed to have turned the whole battle into his direction.

--------

Conrad spat out the dirt in his mouth and looked in shock at Naruto.

"How did you?!"

"Ahhhh, now that would be telling Conrad. I don't reveal all my secrets in one day you know."

The blonde knight tried to struggle free as Naruto walked up to him with a grin and then sat down to face his foe as the others watched in absolute shock as the blonde ninja spoke to Conrad.

"So Conrad….how's the view from down there? You want to know something important? If this was a REAL fight, I could easily decapitate you or torture you right about now."

"You foul sorcerer, you cheated using magic!!!"

Naruto laughed and showed his arm with the Magic Inhibitor Bracelet.

"Exactly HOW could I have cheated using magic with this on, besides, I'll wager a bet you also cheated….right about…now"

Naruto flipped backwards from his sitting position as the sword that Conrad wielded suddenly attacked him, without Conrad holding it at all!

"What the?!"

"What's going on here?!"

The crowd looked on as they saw Conrad's sword moving and attacking without the knight holding it, making them even more confused as the blonde ninja/mage continued to dodge and evade each attack of the sword while Conrad was still buried up to his neck in the grounds of the arena. The blonde Chuunin then spoke out to as he evaded several slashes easily.

"Now we see just how you were able to beat those thieves a few nights before without any possible effort and why you acted like you can win this fight without magic, since your sword is a magical sword! Namely it's a Dancing Sword type!"

Conrad gulped at this, realizing that the ruse had just been removed.

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In the audience…

Merrill looked on with some surprise as Genie commented.

"An enchanted sword, and a Dancing Sword no less…no wonder he seemed to be so skilled at first."

Ila nodded.

"Yep, Naruto was right about Conrad cheating, the Dancing Sword is powered by the gem in the hilt and is able to use the style that is imprinted into the gem's essence. However, Naruto had been to Ramliearth before and knows the style used by the swordsmen in the area there and knows just the best way to expose Conrad as a fake."

Melissa then realized that Naruto was indeed right about Conrad actually cheating this whole time, all through simple glances at Conrad's sword as well as his posture with the armor on. She looked at the fight as Naruto seemed to be just lazily dodging each attack through at him by the Dancing Sword, each slash was easily evaded as the blonde ninja kept ahead of the weapon.

She turned to see Carwess and Jenny smiling at Naruto's antics and actions in the arena, they were entertained by the events happening before them as if they had already known that Naruto was going to win this fight long before it even started.

--------

The blonde sighed as he evaded yet another slash for his head and spoke.

"I think everyone knows now that you are a liar Conrad so why don't we get down to the real fight?"

Naruto then took out a shuriken from his thigh holster and with his training in throwing kunai, he hit the gem dead on, shattering it and stopping the sword from attacking him again, with the power source gone, the sword became nothing more than a regular sword. It was then that Naruto moved to Conrad and struck the ground around him, freeing the knight from the ground and allowed him to get up as the blonde ninja looked on at him.

Conrad looked at his depowered Dancing Sword and cried out.

"MY FATHER'S DANCING SWORD!!!!"

Naruto snorted and took out his chokotu sword, but this time, the blade was exposed, showing that he was now going to fight seriously as he had his weapon in a reverse grip in the same way Sasuke used to hold his own sword.

"Quit your whining coward….now that this charade is over, we can get down the real fight."

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Melissa looked at this with a very interested eye and so did Merrill, Genie was eager to see what Naruto could do this time now that he was no longer using his sheathed sword to attack Conrad, she had to admit that Naruto's abilities with the sheathed weapon was rather good, but with the way Naruto was positioned and his blade now revealed, he was serious now.

Ila was interested to see the outcome as well, she had known that Naruto was merely playing around with Conrad until the time was right to reveal Conrad's lies.

With that over, the real fight was going to start.

Jenny and Carwess looked on with a good deal of interest.

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Conrad looked on at Naruto who still had his single edged sword in a one handed reverse grip, his now powerless Dancing Sword lying between him and the blonde Shinobi. Naruto grinned as he got into combat position which was him moving his left hand in a jutsu style position before his chest while his right arm was back behind him with his sword in a vertical position behind him as he taunted Conrad with a smirk.

"Pick up your sword Conrad so this duel can get underway."

Conrad was sweating hard as Naruto looked at him with a smile that was devoid of any friendliness. He tried to think of a way to escape this kind of a fight, he didn't have any form of real training in the art of being a swordsman or a knight; he relied only on the Dancing Sword to see him through.

"W-Why don't we have a duel with magic instead?"

Naruto snorted at Conrad's attempt to weasel his way out of the mess he got himself into, Naruto despised liars more than anything, Haku had lied to him before, but the young man he met so long ago had his reasons for lying and they were valid ones, but Conrad was the worst and he made that very plain to the blonde idiot before him.

"You are not walking away Conrad. You said you don't NEED magic to be eat me, yet here you are using a magic sword, and now with it out of the way, you WANT to use magic?"

He looked at the audience who were on Conrad's side before and who were calling him all those names and he spoke to them.

"This is some hero huh? He said he won't use magic to beat me, but instead he's now asking to use magic in this duel, a hero, a real hero is never supposed to back away from a promise right? A REAL hero is the kind who fights with honor and courage, to never surrender and find a way to gain victory despite the odds stacked before him or her. This guy is no hero, he's nothing but a liar and cheater. He tried to ruin my name while he himself is no hero to begin with, relying on the skills imbued in his Dancing Sword and having no real abilities or skills of his own! The skills I used have no need to use magic and I certainly have not used my wand in this whole battle because if I did, the Magic Negation Bracelet would have stopped me from using ANY magic, so who's the real fake now?"

The crowds were silent as Naruto looked at Conrad once more and spoke to him evenly.

"Pick up your sword….prove to me you can actually fight Conrad, because here and now we are going to see if you really have what it takes to be a warrior of Ramlierath."

Conrad got the sword up as Naruto began to move in with his sword still in the reverse grip he had it on the first time. Naruto was quickly attack as he charged in at high speed, All Conrad could see was a blur of orange, red, and black as Naruto unleashed a massive barrage of attacks with his word with powerful swings that proved too quick for Conrad to block at all. The attacks were slashes and thrusts that Naruto aimed to overwhelm Conrad and it was showing as Conrad barely had the real strength and dexterity to block them all as cuts appeared all over his armor.

Conrad was in shock and terror as Naruto continued to attack him as he tried desperately to defend himself from the attacks that Naruto continued to rain down on him as the blonde ninja/mage then decided to taunt Conrad with a powerful slash at his pretty boy face, balrely missing it by the width of a hair..

"What's the matter Conrad, can't fight properly yet?"

Naruto moved in and jammed the pommel of his sword into Conrad's chest and forced him back as Naruto flipped backwards and attacked with a powerful rising reverse swing of his sword that left a wide gash on Conrad's armor like it was nothing but tin foil, Naruto moved to return his sword into a normal grip with both hands and followed with a powerful slash to the mid section which once more cut through the plate armor. Naruto took his time in attacking Conrad at this point, not cutting the flesh underneath but enough to give Conrad a taste of what a real sword fight was.

--------

The crowd could only watch as Naruto continued to press the attack while Genie was utterly surprised at the way Naruto was fighting, she had never seen moves like that before in. She had seen Naruto use the single straight edged sword in a reverse single handed grip and wondered why he held that sword in such a way, and now she could see that he was very capable with such a style and his moves were unlike any sword style she had seen before, but considering the gashes on the armor Conrad wore, this style was undeniably deadly.

"Wow…."

Merrill was flabbergasted as the fight was moving along.

Genie then spoke.

"I had to admit….Naruto is good, if Conrad didn't have that armor on, he'd be dead a dozen times over."

Ila grinned and nodded.

"Yep, Naruto's using his abilities to his best level, and as far as I know, that style is a creation that belongs to him alone, so only he knows how to used it in combat."

Jenny and Carwess smiled at the fight going on before them.

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Naruto then leaped towards Conrad and then spun himself around like a top as his word was on his side, attacking Conrad with the agility that he had perfected over the years, forcing the man back, as soon as he landed on his feet, Naruto moved quickly to Conrad's right side, with his sword in the reverse grip on his left, allowing him to slash Conrad's armor in the middle of the chest region, had there not been armor in the area, the attack would have cut a deep gash on Conrad's right side. Naruto turned around and quickly lashed out with a powerful slash on the back of the armor that Conrad had on, ripping the dusty cloak clean off..

Conrad tried desperately to attack Naruto as he turned around and struck with a blow, but Naruto decided to fight back and he flipped backward to avoid the strike but as soon as he landed he flipped forward and brought his sword down on Conrad's head, as the fake knight was unable to attack in time.

Everyone gasped as the way Naruto brought down his sword towards Conrad's head meant that this strike was downright lethal, but Naruto quickly reversed his chokuto sword, revealing the blunt portion and whacked Conrad on the head like a mallet.

"AAAAUUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!!"

Conrad staggered back as Naruto then lashed out with a powerful thrust of his sword's pommel right to the face and forced Conrad back once more and then Naruto focused his chakra into the blade as the blade was covered in blue energy that crackled like fire. The crowd thought he was using a spell and so did the three young priestesses.

"Naruto's using a spell?!"

"But that's dangerous….if he does it."

"Then the Negation bracelet would stop him cold and shock him!"

Ila however replied.

"No, there's no way its arcane magic, I think he's using the energy that he was taught to use back in his land, and they call it chakra."

Melissa recognized the energy well enough and so did Merrill and Genie, but this was the first time they had ever seen Naruto use it with a sword. The swordswoman was interested to see this possible technique in action at this moment, her interest in Naruto's weapon skills getting even higher. Merrill herself was also eager to see what else Naruto would do at this moment.

Naruto then spoke to Conrad as he placed his sword in a normal single handed grip which turned to a double handed grip before him.

"Now let's see you dodge this attack Conrad, I've wanted to test this out in a while and you're the lucky victim for today!!!!"

(Mommy…)

Naruto then moved in with high speed and before Conrad could counter…

"KENJUTSU!!!! HEINGATANA RENDA!!!!"

Conrad tried to fight back, but then Naruto came in at high speed, with his chakra enhancing his speed both in feet and hands as the crowd only saw Conrad being enveloped in massive arcs of glowing light and the sound of metal briefly meeting metal in only a moment, Naruto then reappeared next to Conrad with his sword in the same reverse grip in his right hand and Naruto spoke.

"You've lost Conrad, let me show you why."

With that Naruto gave a light whack on Conrad's armor and then the results of the attack which would have translated in rune to be Flying Swallow Sword Barrage were seen as Conrad's sword was reduced to ruins as it fell apart in sections, leaving only the handle still in Conrad's hands as his fancy but now badly gashed armor cracked and fell to pieces all over him, falling off like leaves on a tree, a very skinny and sickly looking tree at that as Conrad was revealed.

Naruto couldn't help but snicker and then laugh at Conrad as he placed his sword away and returned it to the sheath on his back as he looked at Conrad.

"Man….you are one sickly character, no wonder you moved so slowly in that armor and Melissa said you sucked in getting stronger and you were slow!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

The crowd looked on and comments began to fill their, most of them negative but this time, they were directed at Conrad, not Naruto.

"YUCK!!!!"

"WHAT IS THAT?!"

"HE'S SO SKINNY!!!!"

Genie and Merrill couldn't help themselves and they burst out laughing while Melissa herself as well as Jenny also were laughing to their heart's content at the sight of Conrad. The crowd was soon to join in as Joan, Anna, and Janet also began to laugh.

Conrad could take no more of this humiliation, the respect and admiration he had gained through his false skills were long gone and now he had been given the worst beating of his life in front of all the people in Ohfun, with that, he turned to run away, but not before glaring at the blonde ninja/mage who was still laughing at him and grinning like a happy monkey as well.

(YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS YOU PEASANT!!! I WILL WIN MELISSA FROM YOU YET!!!!)

As soon as Conrad was gone and out of his sight, Naruto stopped laughing looked about and then bowed to where Jenny and Carwess were and then to the rest of the audience cheering his name.

"NARUTO!!!! NARUTO!!!"

As Melissa laughed she couldn't help but look at Naruto who stood there in the arena, she gambled with trusting him, and he won despite his actions, while it would be a while before she could consider him as a real hero in her mind, her opinion of him was rising a bit more.

Jenny saw that and smiled as Naruto was greeted by Ila who made it to the arena floor.

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To be continued…

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Author's Notes:

Now that was a good fight, as you can see, Conrad picked the WRONG man to fight, and it might seem that while the group might not fully trust Naruto yet, this would move Naruto up the ladder even more. Of course, Conrad will NOT give up without a fight and he will be back.

Next we see the results of the battle and Merrill is about to learn the deadly effects of being TOO greedy.

One of the signature moves of the Brazilian martial art Capoeria


	8. Chapter 8

Rune Soldier Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Rune Soldier Louie so let's just leave it at that all right?

Chapter 7

Money or Life

( ): Thoughts/Conversation with the Kyuubi

(( )): Kyuubi's voices

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In the city of Ohfun…

Naruto was in the mood to relax for the time being and was on his way to his favoured bar to grab a bite to eat, for the time being it seemed that Melissa and company were not getting any new missions this time so he had some free time, and as much as he was not a fan of reading all that much, Naruto had hit the books to find out more about possible magical artefacts for him to get back home, he had no doubt that the others back in Konoha were worried sick about him being gone for so long.

He had hoped that Gamakichi and Gamatatsu would be there in Konoha to deliver the news that he was all right but in some new world. He had no doubts in his mind that the others back in the village were going to flip at the news and he was going to be in serious trouble the very second they were able to find SOME way to get here. He could just imagine the shout coming from a certain blonde Sannin right about now...

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In Konoha...

"HE'S WHAT?!"

Tsunade shouted out as she looked at Gamakichi and Gamatatsu as she, Yamato, Sakura, Hinata, and Sai were speaking to the Toad Siblings. They had arrived several hours ago from Mount Myobokuzan and that was a very fair distance to say the very least. It was due to the fact that Naruto carried the Summoning Contract on his back like Jiraiya normally did and since he was the current contract holder, only he could summon the Toads.

She was surprised then they showed up when she was busy in the training field, she had then sent a message to Naruto's group along with Hinata to find out what the Toads were doing here and without Naruto no less. But she also made sure to get snacks for the two brothers since they were undeniably hungry after such a long trip from their home to Konoha. As soon as the others arrived and the Toads had eaten, they gave them Naruto's message.

Needless to say, the others were shocked that Naruto had somehow been dragged into a brand new world and there seemed to be no way they could get there yet. Naruto had told the two siblings to tell the others that in order for them to be summoned where he was, he had to use the Kyuubi's chakra to summon just the two of them and that was not even counting the chakra he had to use to supplement their own to send them back to their home dimension or some sort.

Gamakichi nodded and replied.

"That's where Naruto-san is right now Tsunade-sama, he's trying to find a way out for the time being so he's all right."

Tsunade couldn't help but feel a vein appear on her forehead at this as she managed to calm herself and think on how they were going to get Naruto back, magic was not unheard of in the ninja world, but magic was nearly all but forgotten for the time being ever since the use of Ninjutsu and all the other techniques of the Ninja World were used, the only way was for them to find some way to use magic to get Naruto back home. The blonde Hokage had been worried sick for days when the requests she had sent out to the other villages and countries had turned up nothing, and to now get the news that Naruto was in another world entirely was rather unsettling. She then spoke to Gamakichi.

"So what is he doing now?"

Gamakichi thought about what he heard from Naruto and spoke to the Sannin and the others while smiling a bit at both Sakura and Hinata.

"Before we got sent back, he was roped into working with some females."

This was enough to get Hinata Sakura's attention as they were not liking the implications of that statement. Sakura naturally was the very first to speak.

"Who exactly is he with Gamakichi?"

The Toad friend of Naruto was tempted to tease Sakura, but decided against it as he was already aware how Sakura would react to that kind of teasing and replied.

"There seems to be a blonde priestess with the group, apparently the leader of the bunch, at least she looked like a priestess in that getup, there were three younger girls dressed in what appeared to the same versions of the priestess' uniform though different, a short girl who moves like a thief and was armed like one. And some swordswoman with tanned skin and some odd clothing carrying two swords as well, that's the group that Naruto seems to be stuck with for the time being when he summoned us."

Sakura and Hinata were wondering just what to make of all this and they were hoping that Naruto was going to be all right. Sakura however had a feeling that Naruto was going to make an impression on the new group he was travelling with in this new world, the only thing she had to worry about was what sort of impression it was. In Hinata's case, she hoped that Naruto was all right and would soon find his way back to Konoha and be safe, though she couldn't help but feel some level of worry about how she was going to deal with the fact that Naruto was stuck with other women, Hinata was not always the jealous type, not after admitting the depths of her feelings to Naruto, but she was still a woman and she was worried at how Naruto was dealing being in front of women who he didn't know.

As for Tsunade, she hoped that Naruto was not doing something that was going to make him look like a real piece of work, however she was not going to hold her breath on the matter, as she knew Naruto all too well.

(I just know he's already making an impression, I just don't what kind.)

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Back in Ohfun...

(How IS he doing that?!)

Melissa and Genie were shocked at how easily Naruto was gulping down the meals before him, they were shocked at how quickly Naruto was taking away all the food into his stomach. The blonde Priestess couldn't help but wonder just how was Naruto able to stomach that much food in one go, she couldn't help but feel somewhat disgusted by how easily Naruto was taking away his food and be so calm about the whole thing. Though she had to admit, she was curious just how he was able to eat all that much without any discomfort.

Genie likewise couldn't believe that this guy before him was able to eat this much all in one run and even she, who had a good appetite felt small before Naruto's eating habits. Though she couldn't help but wonder just how he was able to eat that much without having his stomach burst out. Most people in the tavern that they were in were still amazed at how quickly the blonde ninja/mage was able to polish off that much food when it counted but the tavern owner was already familiar with Naruto's appetite so he was all right with that, in fact, Naruto was his finest customer since the blonde paid well.

As he polished off his food, he rubbed his belly and gave a sigh.

"Now that was some good eating!"

"H-How could you eat like that?!"

Naruto turned to look at Melissa who was still in shock at seeing him eat food like a vacuum hose and smiled back as he took out a tooth pick to clean his teeth.

"I eat like this because I am really hungry, it's not like it's a crime to be having a good meal."

"You've got to be kidding?! You ate your food like a tornado! That's just disgusting..."

Naruto thought about that and replied.

"Maybe, but what can I say? I do have a big appetite."

Genie snorted at that and replied.

"Big appetite doesn't cut it Naruto, you ate enough food to feed a squad of foot soldiers for three days, just what sort of stomach do you have in there anyway?"

Naruto smirked and replied in a very happy tone.

"The bottomless kind. Anyway, you guys are wrong in some regard, I'm not the only one who a mammoth appetite where I come from, if you want to see a bottomless stomach, you should meet my old class mate and fellow ninja Chouji."

"Who?"

"Chouji Akimichi of the Akimichi Clan, I've never seen Chouji without some form of food in his hands, he always eats food whenever he gets with meat being top in his list food items of choice, he is one big guy like his father and his mother, but he's a great guy and very friendly when it comes down to some serious things. Plus he's really a strong guy in his own right despite the fact he happens to be....rather large due to his appetite."

"Just how fat is he?"

Naruto snickered and gave Genie a knowing look and replied.

"You're lucky that he's not here when you said that, he doesn't take very kindly to being called that and he will retaliate with great force the very second that word is said to him, he usually would say that he was big boned or pleasantly plump or something around those lines. I recall how many times his buddy Shikamaru and even Ino had to restrain him when that taboo word was uttered."

"However, his size works to his advantage as his clan are known to use the Baika No Jutsu."

Melissa and Genie were confused by that and Melissa spoke.

"What's that Bai...?"

"Baika No Jutsu, in your case it's called Body Enlargement Techniques, it's unique among Chouji's clan as this allows them to enlarge or expand their bodies the way they want, their clan can also turn all those calories they have....or fat into pure chakra to increase their abilities to fight. One example is that Chouji can actually make one of his arms or both to the size of tree trunks and his fists into boulders, in fact, Chouji could even turn his entire body into a massive boulder and after tucking away his arms, head, and legs, he turned into a massive rolling tank that can REALLY pound someone, and if he takes kunai on metal wire and wrap himself in that form with those, he turned into a bladed rolling boulder of death. I even know for a fact that his father Chouza can grow into a massive giant!"

Melissa and Genie's eyes were wide at the implications of that, it took a while for them to react with Melissa speaking first.

"You can't be serious, there's no way such a thing like that can happen!"

Genie nodded a bit and replied.

"I have to agree....all that seems....farfetched to me."

Naruto smiled and replied.

"I kid you two not, that's how Chouji is, and I can bet right now he's busy munching down another round of barbecued beef back home."

Genie and Melissa then decided to take it in stride for the moment and the swordswoman then decided to ask Naruto a question that was on the back of her mind for a while now.

"So I take it there are no female ninja then, it's all men?"

Naruto looked at Genie with incredulous eyes and he began to laugh a bit at that, making Genie slightly angry and Melissa as somewhat confused by the humour that Naruto was displaying before her, what was so funny about genie's question anyway? It was a perfectly legitimate question to ask after all.

Naruto stopped laughing and relaxed himself as he, took a mug of water and drank a good amount to settle his stomach, as soon as he felt his body relax; he spoke to the two of them

"Heh, if you think men are the only one who are ninja in my world, you're wrong, women can be powerful ninja as well, in fact, you should try meeting one female ninja I know who can be a real powerhouse."

Genie raised an eyebrow and looked at Naruto with some level of disbelief in her eyes and she spoke.

"Really, who's that?"

"The one I'm talking about is my adopted mother and the current Hokage of my home village, her name is Tsunade Senju of the Clan Senju and one of the Sannin."

Melissa was surprised at how respectfully Naruto spoke this woman's name and was curious.

"You said she was an adopted mother to you Naruto?"

"Yeah, Tsunade-obasan is like a mother to me after my own mother died, she's one of the strongest and most famous female ninja in my village and also in my homeland, she's also one of the famous Sannin and is considered one of the finest Medic Nin in the ninja world."

"Medic Nin?"

Naruto nodded and replied.

"Not ALL ninja are assassins you know Melissa, Medic Nin are ninja who are skilled in medical techniques, medicine, herbalism, and know medical jutsu to heal others. They can heal wounds, injuries and cure people of poisons. To be a Medic Nin, you have to be of great intelligence and great chakra control. Medic Nin are trained to avoid combat since if they get knocked out or injured, there's no one to heal the others in the group they are assigned with. They use a technique known as the Shosen Jutsu or the Mystical Palm Technique for precision surgery without medical tools or to seal up wounds though Tsunade-obasan is the best at this field. Medic Nin can use the Shosen Jutsu to bring a person to a comatose state if they have to, they can even use it in combat if it becomes too difficult to avoid fighting. You put multiple Medic Nin in the same room, they can heal wounds very well. Medic Nin can also be specialized in other fields, one Medic Nin named Hana Inuzuka, who's the sister of a friend of mine who is also a ninja is a top ranking veterinarian. Chiyo-san from the village of Suna before she died was a top poison expert and she had a rivalry with Tsunade-obasan since Tsunade-obasan could cure any ailment, including Chiyo-san's poisons"

"Anyway, Tsunade-obasan is the finest Medic Nin I know and she is not shy about fighting, she already has super human strength and with her powerful chakra control, she is nasty in a fight."

Genie was intrigued by this as she could tell that Naruto's pride and confidence in speaking of this Tsunade meant that he was telling the truth, she decided to ask once more.

"Just how strong is this Tsunade you speak of?"

Naruto grinned and replied.

"Let me put it this way, she can easily punch a man clear through a building wall and INTO another building and OUT the wall. She can easily crush boulders with either her fists or feet, one kick from her could create craters on the ground and she could even cause an earthquake with a single punch to the ground. And she is fast and quite durable in a fight, she can take wounds that would cripple normal people and recover well enough to keep fighting...plus she can easily crush bones and pulp organs with a punch, in essence, she can kill a man with a single hit....and THAT is without weapons. She can even uproot trees with her bare hands if she wanted to and not sweat in the least. Not to mention the fact that she is definitely a woman who can have men turn their heads a full 180 degrees to look at her with the face and build, though she's a lot older than she looks."

Melissa was shocked and so was Genie as the swordswoman was utterly dumbfounded by what Naruto said about this Tsunade, she was considered very strong in her own right, but this Tsunade seemed to be beyond strong. It was then that Melissa spoke to Naruto.

"You can't possibly be serious Naruto?! No one can be THAT strong!"

"Oh really? It's all true, because long ago when I fought her...."

"YOU fought her?! Why?!"

Naruto sighed and replied.

"It's a long story but I'll tell you about it another time, anyway, when I fought Tsunade-obasan for the first time, she disarmed me without any effort AND with a flick of her finger was able to send me flying back at least a full thirty feet backwards, and THAT is just with a finger. If you don't believe me, here's a picture of Tsunade-obasan."

Naruto reached into his coat pocket and took out a picture of Tsunade after she took back the position of Hokage from Danzo. The two looked at the picture before them and saw a beautiful brown eyed blonde woman who had her blonde hair in two tails, with a strange diamond shaped tattoo on her forehead as well as wearing some sort of green long sleeved coat with some symbol on the back, she wore a strange set of upper clothes and pants as well as sandals. The one thing that got their attention was the fact that she had a very large....bust, larger than Genie's in some level yet suited her frame and appearance. Her build was slender and well formed and unlike Genie she didn't have muscles that were the same as the swordswoman's so it was hard to picture her to be as strong as Naruto said she would be.

As they looked at Naruto who had a grin on his face, they handed back to him the picture, it was then that Naruto noted something odd, he was so caught up in talking about his friends and family back in Konoha that he noted that a certain someone was not around.

"Hey, isn't Merrill supposed to be here with you guys? Normally she would be with you guys or something."

Melissa shook her head and replied.

"She's currently staying in a hotel to count her winnings, she's not going to be around for a while."

Naruto nodded a bit at that and spoke.

"Really? Then I guess I can go there and collect my part of the whole thing."

Genie shook her head and replied.

"You might as well give it up for the time being, Merrill's kind of serious miser when it comes to money."

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Speaking of the young thief…

"YES!!!! FINALLY!!!"

Merrill was in high heaven as she hugged the jar that contained all her earnings from the battle between Conrad and Naruto. Ever since a large number of people had rooted for Conrad to beat Naruto easily without any trouble, they had bet big on the fake Knight, and when Conrad not only lost but was humiliated by the blonde ninja/mage, they had no choice but to pay up to her, and the results were beyond what she hoped for. Finally that guy came through for them, or rather her. She had never seen this much money before and this was going to be something that she was never going to let out of her sight.

The young woman thief was so happy she decided to do something that she had wanted to do, removing the clothes she had on except her under clothes; the thief took a dunk into the jar to literally bathe in her new found wealth. However as she did so, she heard a strange noise coming out from outside her window.

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Back in the inn...

Naruto sighed a bit with contentment as he felt his stomach relax and feel full as he got up and he was joined by both Genie and Melissa as they decided to go out and see just how Merrill was doing, and Naruto had the plan to get his share of funds from the betting pools that Merrill had set up during the fight with Conrad despite Genie and Melissa warning him to forget the idea. Naruto had ways to get his share though he hoped that he wasn't going to use them when the time came for it.

Genie was still eager to see just how Naruto used the sword he had with him, after seeing him fight with Conrad before, she was curious to see just how capable she was against someone like Naruto when it came to crossing swords with one another. For now however she was curious to see that sword up close but decided to wait for a better time. She was also curious about the other ninja who were female in Naruto's world, if what Naruto said was to be believed, then there were no doubt other female ninja as well.

Melissa herself was still doubtful about Naruto words concerning the woman who he considered as a mother who was named Tsunade and his friend Chouji, such people couldn't possibly exist right? Yet she had already seen Naruto accomplish amazing feats that she still had a hard time wrapping her mind around, so there was a chance that maybe there were such people like what Naruto described.

However, the blonde priestess gave a cry of surprise as she ran into Naruto, as soon as she was able to recover from the sudden surprise, she spoke to Naruto.

"What's going on?! Why didn't you...."

She looked and right there before her was a large column of smoke, and she knew that when smoke was seen inside a city like Ohfun, that usually meant only one thing....fire! She gasped as she realized that the city was in danger, but she knew that the people would start working on killing the blaze, however that was when Naruto spoke out.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the fire there in The Sunken Wheel District of Ohfun?"

Genie looked at the road signs and nodded.

"Yes....in fact it's the same area where the inn...."

"The inn that Merrill is staying in!!! By Mylee!!!!"

Naruto quickly climbed up a wall and headed there, the two women wondered just how he was able to do that and then leap across the gaps between houses as if it was like skipping over a simple hole, but they placed that aside as they hurried to find their friend, hoping to the Goddess that their friend was all right.

--------

Merrill was not happy as she looked at the burning ruin that was the place he had been staying in, somehow a massive fire had broken out in the inn just as she was getting ready to go and get some much needed sleep after keeping an eye on her darling jar. As soon as she was aware of the fire she got out and couldn't help but see the place being consumed by the flames. She also knew that her clothes, tools, weapons were also gone....along with her food, spare clothes....and...

Merrill was shocked completely as she realized that she had left something important behind and that something happened to be a jar.

The people who were trying their best to contain and eventually kill the fire were shocked then the young woman who was wearing only light clothes suddenly grabbed a large container of water and dunked herself with the water despite the fact that doing so when the water was cold and she wore thin clothing was in invitation to getting herself sick.

They were even more shocked when the soaked girl actually RAN back into the burning inn shouting only one phrase.

"DON'T WORRY MY DARLING JAR!!!! I'LL SAVE YOU!!!!"

The people then shouted out to Merrill as she rushed back into the blazing inferno before them all.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"WHAT THE HECK IS A DARLING JAR?!"

--------

As soon as Naruto arrived on the scene, he scanned the area, trying to find any sign of the young thief and turned to some of the people who were doing their best to keep the fire from spreading all throughout the district. He tapped the shoulder of one man and spoke.

"Pardon me, you saw a young woman about this high and with short hair?"

Naruto said as he looked about, just as Genie and Melissa arrived, the two were tired, but were able to keep up though they were still amazed that Naruto didn't seem all that tired. They were not aware of the demanding training that Naruto had as ninja growing up in Konoha, nor did they know of the intense training he got learning the Rasengan, the Rasenshuriken, and his Senjutsu training, along with the retraining that he took for a long while back in his world so doing the things he did even with the Toad Summoning Contract on his back was not new to him.

The man nodded and replied.

"You mean that crazy woman earlier? Yeah she was hear, she had just gotten out of that burning ruin, when all of a sudden she grabbed a large jar of water, doused herself in it, and went back into the flames."

Naruto's eyes widened at that and so did the two member of Melissa's group with Naruto being the one to speak out their thoughts.

"SHE DID WHAT?!"

"Yeah, she just soaked herself and went right back into the blazing inferno, the thing is, she said something about saving her 'darling jar' or something like that."

Naruto looked utterly confused and Melissa spoke.

"We have to find her!"

Another man spoke to them in that moment.

"She already escaped, she climbed on the roof and leaped away with a massive jar in hand, she made it across the other side over there and landed in a water tank so she is fine."

Naruto looked it over and had nod a bit as he thought over at the implications of Merrill's actions.

(Hmmm...give her some time under Iruka-sensei, Ebisu-sensei....and Kakashi-sensei if he was still about, she might not make a bad ninja, though her thief background might be helping.)

Naruto shook his head and wondered just where Merrill was staying in this time.

--------

In a nearby shack...

Merrill was hugging her jar with all her winnings in it like it was the most precious thing in the world to her, which in her case, it was. She was already bordering deeply into paranoia as she had spent the whole night trying to evade all real and perceived threats to her darling jar. The threats in question included alley cats, mice, falling flower pots and the sounds of people chasing her all over the alley ways, (unaware of the fact that the people chasing her were her friends and Naruto as well) now here she was, she was cold, no doubt getting a cold and had to wrap herself in some tarp while holding her jar in her hands and legs in a vice. She was dead certain that someone was going to steal her darling jar, well...she was going to kill anyone that came within ten feet....

"Merrill, you in...?"

FLICK!

THUNK!

Merrill turned to look and then the cloth blanket was parted and there was none other than Naruto who had one of her throwing knives...between his teeth.

Naruto spat out the knife and was not the least bit happy at the unexpected attack as he walked into the place, he kept his tongue in check considering the look Merrill was giving him at the moment, as much as he wanted to pound her a bit for throwing a knife at his direction, he had learned from prior experience to keep his temper in check.

Naruto was raising his eyebrows at this and both Genie and Melissa were shocked at the way Merrill was dressed at the moment, she looked as if she had not been able to sleep for over several days, she looked sick and more besides. However the woman seemed to be very defensive at the moment while hugging the jar there before them. The two knew their partner well and had a fairly accurate idea as to what was in the jar and why Merrill was holding on to it. Naruto had the same idea, considering how stringy Merrill was when it dealt with money.

However that certainly didn't stop him from commenting to Merrill.

"What's with the tarp?"

After Merrill was calmed down enough to explain herself, the two women and the blonde Chuunin were in her shack and the young thief was debating what to do while Naruto looked on. As he looked at Merrill and recalled how she reacted when they tried to come into the place, he could understand some part of Merrill's actions. Back then when he started out as a Genin and doing missions with his old team he did his absolute best to save money as much as he could from each mission, despite the low pay he got doing them, he had always done his best to save money after each successful mission for a rainy day.

But Merrill's antics in keeping her money and that darling jar out of harm's way was turning into overkill in his mind. He might be thrifty with his money, but he wasn't obsessed with money either as he used his money to buy only the essentials that he needed to get by while only using his money on a spending run if it was in a situation which wasn't going to drown his savings, not to mention the fact that the annual amounts of money he got from Sarutobi when the old man was still alive and Hokage was always stored away in safe places that only he knew about.

The two women were not happy with the news at the moment and wondered just what Merrill had in mind, they were not going to have to wait for too long when the young thief apparently had an idea as she spoke to them.

"I have a way to keep my darling jar from harm!"

"Really?"

"What do you have in mind Merrill?"

Merrill smiled despite her sickness and spoke.

"I'm going to bury my darling jar in a pit and bury it there so no one but me....and you guys will know where it is."

Naruto had a feeling this might not work out the way Merrill wanted, he knew that things rarely turn out the way most people expected no matter how much they want thing to turn out the way they wanted, and that was from his own personal experiences, so he had a feeling this might not work out the way Merrill might hope it would. However, the next suggestion that came out of Merrill's mouth was more than enough to get his attention.

"Then I can ask Naruto here to summon those toads of his guard my darling jar."

Naruto did not like that and before the women could look at him, he replied.

"Out of the question!"

Merrill gave Naruto her best glare of warning and this was enough to raise the tension in the shack as Melissa and Genie looked on and hoped that this was not going to end badly for all involved at this moment.

Naruto shook his head at Merrill's request of his Toad Summons. He couldn't help but look at Merrill and wonder if she had suddenly grown another head, and this one had horns and fire coming from the mouth. He could understand to some degree that Merrill wanted to protect her money as she called it, but asking him to summon the Toad siblings just to guard a jar that could be easily hidden was taking this whole thing a bit too far.

"You want me to call on Gamakichi and Gamatatsu so they can guard that jar of yours? What do you think they are, body guards for hire?"

Merrill looked at Naruto seriously and replied.

"Just summon them and tell them to guard my darling jar until I can find a better hiding spot."

Naruto shook his head at that, he normally summoned the Toad siblings for work that was serious and guarding a jar, even if was full of gold was not serious work in his mind. Besides, it cost him a seriously large amount of chakra to summon them in the first place, not to mention he could wager a guess that both Gamakichi and Gamatatsu were not going to like the idea of being forced to baby sit a jar of all things.

"Let me explain something to you Merrill, my Toad Summons are not your average bunch of animals."

Merrill however was having none of it as her desire to keep her darling jar of money safe overrode her common sense as she spoke out.

"Just do it already!!!"

"No I will not Merrill, they are more than summons to me and they are not going to like it if they get called here just to guard a jar, not to mention the fact that summoning them alone is going to be costly for me in terms of overall power. Besides that, have you ever considered using that money for something?"

Merrill glared and replied.

"Like what could I spend it on?"

Naruto shook his head and replied.

"Oh I don't know....how about some fresh clothes, food, new weapons, tools, or even a new house? I've seen this shack you live in for Kami's sake, that place would be wiped out in the flood in a heartbeat. You could use all that for that you know, and you can benefit as well as pay off the rest of your..."

"No! I'm saving it."

"Come again?"

"You heard me, I am going to save my money."

Naruto couldn't help but wonder what was going on in Merrill's head, this was beginning to remind him of the mission he had taken with Kakashi, Lee, and Sakura to the Kingdom of the Crescent Moon, in that mission, he had to escort the prince and his son to safety and at that time all the body guards hired by the royalty folks quit their jobs because of the treatment they got from the father and son pair. He certainly was not happy and made that sentiment clear more than once in his trip. He recalled the time the young boy, Hikaru bought an entire circus to befriend the white sabre toothed tiger but when the tiger turned away due to not trusting humans since it had bad memories of humans, the young kid Hikaru ignored the circus.

When the convoy went by sea, and the storm came, the kid cared little for the people he and his father had hired, thinking that all that mattered was money and wealth. Naruto was not happy at all and made his sentiment clear to the young kid. He knew he hurt the kid but he didn't mind at all, in his mind, Hikaru deserved the tongue lashing for being such a spoiled brat. However the young boy changed after that and saved the tiger from death.

That changed his opinion of Hikaru and Chamu trusted the young kid afterwards, the rest of the mission was very much different from what he was used to, first they met up with Hikaru's mother and ex-wife of Michiru and then had to meet Michiru's father and Hikaru's grandfather as he spoke to them before dying. They then had to deal with the ninja group hired by the corrupt Prime Minister and afterwards, he and the others along with the circus troop were able to save the father and son, as well as defeat the bad guys.

Afterwards Michiru decided to go on a diet and exercise course to get back into shape and rule wisely as his father once did, to make the people's happiness and prosperity his own, and he also mended his relationship with his wife. The blonde also recalled the vacation time they had there until Kakashi recovered from the use of his Sharingan, and he had to admit that the place had some really wonderful beaches to be in.

But now it seemed that this was going to be a serious deal that he was about to be dragged into as he could see that Merrill was not budging....however, neither was he. He was not going to waste the time, chakra, and energy to summon the two Toad brothers just to guard a jar, it would be a waste of his time, theirs, his chakra, theirs, and it would be demeaning to turn Gamabunta's sons into glorified guard dogs....guard toads if one got technical, he didn't even want to guess how furious the Boss Toad would be if he found out his sons were turned to watchmen for a jar.

Besides, Merrill's idea of saving it sounded a bit odd for him when he thought about it, there was something in the whole conversation that was really making feel that this was a seriously bad idea in all accounts.

Naruto shook his head and mentally spoke to himself and to the Kyuubi.

(Why do I just know this is not going to end well?)

((Simple kit, it won't.))

--------

Later...

"I can't even begin to imagine WHY I'm doing this."

Naruto said as he was now bare-chested while wearing his pants and sandals, his black shirt was there on the ground, his orange and black jacket along with his long coat on the ground, with his Toad Summoning Contract and sword there on the other side with his pouch. He had tried to find a better solution and even made some fairly good sounding ones like trying to save the money in a bank to make it grow in interest. That was what he did under Sakura, Hinata, and Tsunade's suggestion after he had been paid a huge double bounty for dealing with both Madara and Sasuke when the ninja villages and the countries of his world found out about what he had done for them all. Which was why he had a seriously huge bank account back home in Konoha which he spent on helping the village recover.

Another idea was to use it to pay off their debts to their collectors and therefore would lessen the temptation for others to try and steal from her, allowing her to have a modest nest egg to save up on and draw from when the time came. There were others that came into mind, but Merrill refused the suggestions and decided that if he would not summon his toads, then he should use his magic.

So here he was, digging a hole in the middle of the forest with the light rain beating down on him with him half naked, and around him was a muscled but well formed and undeniably well endowed dark skinned woman with a seriously odd but undeniably eye catching clothing with a sword on her back and another on her hip, then there was a blonde priestess who in his mind had a fairly good rack herself, though her attitude was still in the need for some correction, though she was a good healer, and lastly a young thief who had a seriously unhealthy obsession with money.

If the whole reason for this and the plan that was cooked up that required him to be out here in the rain wasn't so ridiculous and fraught with unforeseen risks, he would have considered it a good way for someone to write a perverted novel. This whole thing had the makings of some...

(All right! Best not to go there...yet. Got to get this hole finished so we can end this mess, though I still know that this might not turn out the Merrill plans, but at least this is going to be interesting and not the least bit boring, I might even come up with some interesting materials later on.)

As he continued to dig he was feeling the slight chill of the weather but ignored it, his endurance and health had improved a lot since he was a kid, and the fact that the Kyuubi healed him well made him immune to most sicknesses, something that he had to admit certainly came in handy as he never got sick before in his life.

Naruto was not aware of the fact that the others were looking at him at the moment, nor did he care as he wanted to get this over and done with.

Genie had to admit that Naruto was not as thin as she had heard sorcerers were known to be, in fact, he was certainly well built as she could see the form he had on. She thought about his life and no doubt being a ninja must really demand a great deal of physical labour and training. He certainly was not a regular mage, that much she could see and she wondered just how good he was with a sword and as soon as she able to do so, she was doing to see just how good he really was.

Melissa had to admit that this was highly odd for her, she had never seen a man like this before and it was different, Naruto was certainly not what she expected of a mage as she had thought that mages didn't have the inclination to keep fit, but Naruto seemed to be different. Then again, she kept in mind that he was a ninja, and despite her still lingering dislike for the fact that he was trained to assassinate people, she couldn't find anything wrong with Naruto's build....compared to Conrad's sickly form....Naruto was...

The blonde priestess blushed bright red at her vivid imaginings and tried to resist those thoughts, it was unbecoming of a Priestess of Mylee to be like this before a man!!! She was not attracted to Naruto! Even if he did have a well toned and muscled body, well toned arms, muscles in all the right places, a hard chest, toned stomach and.

(STOP IT!!!)

Melissa closed her eyes, but not before spotting some sort of tattoo on Naruto's stomach, she wondered briefly what it was and decided to ignore it for now as she was still trying to keep her mind from wandering off to places she wanted it not to go. Naruto was still not the kind of hero she wanted, but at least he was healthy and...

Her thoughts on the matter were cut short as Naruto grunted a bit as he placed aside the shovel and spoke.

"There. That is as deep as I can go without looking like an idiot digging my own grave. Now Merrill, hand me..."

Just as Naruto was reaching for the jar that held Merrill's money, that was moved away by the thief in question as Merrill hissed at Naruto like a cat, or a snake and glared at him. No doubt showing the same level of paranoia that she had shown when she threw the knife at him back in the shack, normally that would have unnerved normal people, Naruto however growled as he had no time for this kind of nonsense as he spoke to Merrill.

"Hey, you asked for a hole for you to hide your darling jar in, you have it, so if you want to keep it safe, hand it over so I can bury it already."

Merrill looked on and slowly began to hand it over.

--------

Naruto couldn't help but shake his head at the way Merrill was cradling and even talking to her darling jar, he might talk to his frog wallet but he didn't take it THIS far as Merrill was doing. He could hear Merrill talking to the jar like it was some sort of baby and he grew all the more annoyed and spoke.

"Merrill, either get out of there so I can bury that jar of yours or stay in there with it. You're REALLY freaking me out here with all that hugging and talking to it."

Melissa turned and spoke to Naruto in a shocked tone.

"Naruto! How could you say that?!"

"Melissa, look, she wanted me to dig a hole so she could hide her jar right? So unless she gets out of there to let me do my job, this is getting us nowhere. Besides, the way she's hugging that jar and treating it like it's alive is seriously creeping me out."

Merrill ignored the comments and spoke to the jar once more.

"Don't worry my darling jar, I'll come back and visit you soon."

Naruto heard that and rolled his eyes once more, and he could feel that the Kyuubi was doing the very same thing, not that he could blame his demonic resident for that at this time. At least Merrill finally got out of the hole and as soon as she was out of there, he began to bury the darn thing, she currently remodelled her tarp outfit and truth be told, the way she looked would have gotten the attention of a lot of perverted young men easily, namely those who had a thing for short women. He quickly squelched down that idea before it took root in his head but decided to shelf that aside for the time being and covered the hole.

After a few minutes, the hole was gone, but although it seemed that this was the end of it, it wasn't, as Naruto was now fully clothed and the rain had stopped, he was happy that the Summoning Contract Scroll was water proof and did the same to the writing in it and his clothes were lightly soaked so it wasn't that bad a deal. As soon as he was fully prepared, he took out what appeared to be a control rod though he showed some level of distrust at it. He knew that this was a bad idea but seeing as Merrill was dead set on this, he decided that she was going to have to see this through, but, a more evil side of his brain had to admit that this was going to be fun to watch to some level at least.

Of course, he was going to try and reason with the stubborn and greedy thief one more time, hoping that she was could see reason at this moment, though hew wasn't going to wager any amount of gold that she was going to change her mind, but at least he tried.

"All right, before we do this, are you SURE you want to do this Merrill?"

Merrill nodded and replied.

"I am, this is the only way for me to hide my darling jar."

"You DO know there ARE other ways right?"

Genie then spoke.

"Look, you agreed to help us Naruto, are you backing out on your promise?"

Melissa nodded at that and replied.

"A true hero keeps his word Naruto."

Naruto snorted a bit and looked at the two women.

"You don't need to tell me that, I said you could trust me when I fought Conrad and I kept my promise didn't I? Not to mention I showed him to be the real fraud and cheat for all to see, remember? Or have you just forgotten what I did before?"

Melissa recalled that and remembered Naruto's promise to her and that told her that Naruto was the kind of person to keep his promises, so she was a bit at fault for questioning Naruto's integrity and his ability to keep his word. The reprimand she got from Head Priestess Jenny about not jumping to conclusions and assumptions came back to her, as well as remembering how Naruto had willingly paid off half their debts to their collectors. He was not a hero in the way she wanted heroes to be, but his heart as in the right place as he said it was. With that in mind, she nodded to Naruto.

"I haven't forgotten, I'm just....surprised that you don't seem to be thrilled with this, Naruto."

"That's because I'm not Melissa, there's a ton of things that might go wrong with this plan and summoning a golem is one of them."

"What do you mean by that?"

"For one thing, the fact that a golem is here in the woods in the middle of nowhere is bound to get attention, seriously, people who encounter a golem will usually think that there's something here of value since a golem isn't exactly as common place as trolls or ogres are, and that is going to get interest from anyone. Then there's the fact that I'm not that good with creating golems, as that is not my specialty."

Genie raised an eyebrow at that and spoke.

"You don't know how to make golems? Kind of odd for a sorcerer to not know how to make golems since it is part of the curriculum of the Academy."

"I didn't say that I don't know anything about making golems, I can make them but not to a very good degree since I had....other priorities, as much as I hate to admit it, the two nut jobs Garret and Hayden were better in that regard, though they were not much of a threat once one figures out how to crush golems. If there was one good thing that came out with me dealing with those lunatics on a daily basis in the Academy is to figure out how to properly destroy golems once you get a good idea on how they are made."

Naruto then looked at Merrill who was impatient to bury the jar and he spoke seriously.

"Okay then Merrill, are you sure about this?"

Merrill nodded and replied seriously.

"Just summon the golem and let me do it!"

"You sure?"

"Yes I am!"

Naruto could tell that there was no way he could convince Merrill about how an idea like this was covered with the potential to go wrong, but he decided that the only way was to show her with action, if she wasn't going to listen to reason then action was going to have to cut the mustard. He smiled mentally as he now knew how hard his various sensei from Iruka, Jiraiya, Ebisu, Yamato, and Kakashi must have worked to teach him things, but unlike Merrill, he was not above asking for help when he needed to learn something and keeping the experience close to him at all times.

He sighed and got to work as he placed the device on the ground.

(Well...I tried.)

As the device was now on the ground, the blonde then decided to get to work as he began to chant as the magical energies began to do their work and soon in a flash of green light, the golem was soon made as the soil around the area came to life.

Naruto was not going to like the result of this at all as the form began to appear.

(This is not going to be good.)

--------

Back in Konoha...

Neji was walking towards the Hyuuga estate with Tenten beside him along with Lee who was still as energetic as ever along with Gai, they had just gotten back from a mission and they were all eager to take a break, Neji decided to ask permission from his uncle Hiashi to allow his team to relax in the Hyuuga estate. Though the Main and Branch families of the Hyuuga clan remained, relations between them had become more cordial and relaxed, something that was attributed to Hiashi's actions to heal the rift between both parts of the clan .

As for the young Jonin, he and Tenten had become very close, enough for them to be going out more often, his uncle Hiashi approved of it, and it was not surprising that they were already something of a couple, much Lee and Gai's approval. Lee also began to see another young woman, and that was none other than Yuhi Kurenai's own former student, the Genjutsu prodigy of the Kurama Clan, and that was Yakumo herself. They had met when Yakumo, after defeating the monster that resided in her for a long time had come to Konoha to beg forgiveness for her actions and ask once more to get the training she wanted to use her powers to defend Konoha.

Kurenai decided to make some level of amends for her own part in Yakumo's life by deciding to train Yakumo in using Genjutsu properly and with compassion so she could be able to resist the chance of another monster taking over. Kurenai was now raising her son who had the same name as her dead lover Asuma well and having been able to see Naruto's victories over Madara and Sasuke as well as taming the Kyuubi now had the knowledge that she could really teach Yakumo to be a ninja who was gifted with Genjutsu abilities...in the same way Gai had inspired Lee to be stronger.

It was there that Lee met Yakumo and was surprised that she was the same as him and he vowed to be her protector, making Yakumo happy that the one who inspired her to be a ninja despite her weaker body was willing to protect her. This began their friendship with one another and it was there that Kurenai noted that Lee was a good influence to Yakumo as she began to show much greater control of her powers with Genjutsu and when they performed together, Yakumo was able to help Lee fill in the gap he had with his inability to use Genjutsu, and he was able to give her the support and protection that she might need if something managed to disrupt her focus.

It was quite a surprise for the others when Lee's relationship with Yakumo was revealed, but seeing Lee and Yakumo happy together was more than enough to convince others that it was for the best and while Yakumo was not going to be able to equal Lee's physical abilities, she had gained enough physical conditioning from Lee to not be hindered all that much.

As they arrived into the estate and headed into the compound's inner courtyard, they spotted Hinata who was training and she appeared to be nearly finished. Neji wondered just how his cousin was handling the disappearance of her boyfriend, when Naruto disappeared days before, Hinata had worried herself sick as she was begging to go out and look for him. Hiashi had naturally refused, even when she requested her body guard Ko Hyuuga to come with her, it was not that he disliked Naruto. In fact, he had been rightly impressed by the young man's achievements and was more than willing to let him and Hinata pursue a relationship though he was apprehensive at first when Sakura got involved in this, but since the two were able to get along well enough with each other with Naruto, it was all right with him as long as Hinata was able to be happy.

Neji walked over to Hinata and spoke to his cousin.

"Any word from the others on where Naruto-kun is?"

Hinata nodded and that was enough to make Neji, Tenten, and Lee smile, but what Hinata said to them about what she had been told by Gamabunta and Gamakichi was more than enough to surprise the ninja team of Gai as they digested what Hinata was telling them. When it was done, they decided to speak with Tenten being the first.

"You're kidding right Hinata-san?"

"No I'm not Tenten-san, it really is true, even though I...I was told this before, I had a hard time believing it too, but Gamakichi-san wasn't lying and neither was his brother when they told us what happened, so I know that it might sound odd, but...N-Naruto-kun is in another world right now."

Gai was surprised a great deal and replied.

"Hmmm....I heard about other worlds when I was Genin but I usually thought those were just stories and fairy tales."

Neji then spoke to Hinata.

"So there is no way for Naruto-san to head back here Hinata-sama?"

Hinata shook her head but replied with a smile of confidence.

"I know that Naruto-kun will find a way home soon! Naruto-kun is not the kind of person to give up no matter the odds."

Lee nodded with a smile as well.

"I agree with Hinata-sama as well, Naruto-san is not the kind of guy to give up without a fight so I have every confidence he will make it back home soon!"

Neji nodded, he too had faith in Naruto, after all, Naruto had accomplished a great deal of things ever since he knew the blonde Chuunin, who was also a Sannin and one of the strongest ninja in the village and was recognized by many in their world as a true hero for all he had personally accomplished over the years as a ninja.

Though he had a feeling that Naruto was going to have a very interesting time finding his way home, but at least Naruto was going to have an interesting time coming home.

--------

Back in the forest...

Naruto sighed a bit as he gazed at his creation and whispered to himself.

"Yep....I still suck at it, thank Kami Ila-chan isn't here to laugh at it, and neither are my other comrades back in Konoha, I can just imagine Hinata-chan and Sakura-chan trying not to laugh right now."

Melissa and the others however were a lot more vocal with their opinions on the golem that Naruto created.

"WHAT IS THIS?"

"YEECH!!!"

"THAT'S DISTURBING!!!"

Naruto couldn't blame them for the reactions as even he had to admit that the golem he cooked up was by far the ugliest he had ever seen in his life.

It was coloured dull yellow no doubt from the mud that formed the lower part along with all the dead vegetation and soil that formed the area that they were in and also it was as big as his old buddy Chouji, just about the same size but had a very dopey expression that made even him feel a bit ill. The thing was like Chouji after a serious eating binge in his favourite barbeque stand, but at least it didn't need to eat at all like Chouji did.

The three girls turned and Merrill replied.

"You call that a golem?! That magic spell is useless!"

Naruto glared a bit and replied.

"If I were to recall rightly, I did say that making golems is not my specialty."

Melissa then replied.

"Maybe so....but you could have made it look a lot more intimidating Naruto....it looks like a complete village idiot."

Merrill grumbled a bit at that and spoke silently

"Maybe like someone I know."

Naruto however was no fool this time around and his enhanced hearing was more than able to pick up Merrill's words and he glared darkly at the young thief and replied.

"Hey, you wanted a golem, you got it, it might not look intimidating but at least it is a golem, besides we're not in a quarry area so I didn't have any solid stone or granite to work with and there's no way a jar hidden in a quarry will escape notice for long, even more so if I had a golem there guarding it since doing that is going to cause quite the mess, not to mention that the place has mud, soil, leaves, branches and other things, this is what you get. Besides since this your idea Merrill, you have to use what you have so take it or leave it."

Merrill glared and decided to just get this over with so her darling jar would have a protector. With that in mind she nodded and replied.

"Fine, I'll take it."

"Good, now give it a command and it will follow it to the letter, though you need to be...."

Merrill however was not in the mood to listen to Naruto and spoke to the Golem, while pointing to the ground where her jar was.

"All right you, make sure that no one touches my darling g jar, and I mean no one! You got that?"

Naruto realized just what Merrill said to the golem and he couldn't help but slap his head and grown out in disbelief.

(Oh no....I should have guessed that her greed would get the better of her...)

The golem seemed to not hear it or give any indication that it heard Merrill's commands, the three women then looked at Naruto while Genie wondering just why would someone like him be that bad with golems while Melissa was somewhat disappointed at this, Merrill however was the more vocal one of the bunch.

"YOU IDIOT! YOU COULDN'T EVEN MAKE A GOLEM THAT CAN FOLLOW SIMPLE COMMANDS?!"

Naruto shook his head and pointed at the Golem once more and replied.

"You might change your mind in about...now."

The golem roared out a war cry of some sort that was disturbing to some extent as it planted it's fist on the ground where Merrill's jar was and then to the shock of the others except Naruto who knew that this was bound to happen considering Merrill's words, the golem took out the jar and began to carry the thing away. Merrill was completely shocked and was quick to turn to Naruto for an explanation.

"What is that moronic creation of yours doing with my darling jar?!"

Melissa then spoke to Naruto, making sure to be at least tactful to the blonde ninja/mage.

"What's going on Naruto, what is that golem doing now?"

Genie was also confused at the actions of the golem and looked at Naruto for an explanation as she spoke to him.

"How come that golem took the jar and isn't following the commands Merrill gave it?"

Naruto shook his head and replied.

"It's just doing what Merrill told it to do, so it's Merrill's own doing in this case."

"I DIDN'T TELL IT TO DIG UP MY DARLING JAR AND TAKE IT AWAY!!!"

"No, but your words were enough to imply that, I was about to say to you to make your instructions loud and clear to a golem since they take their orders to the letter seriously and to avoid a misinterpretation of command you had to explain your instructions in good detail. You said that no one must touch you darling jar right Merrill? So when you said it, the Golem understood that it had to prevent ANYONE from taking the jar, including YOU. That's one reason why I was against this idea in the first place since Golems are deadly when not given proper guidance by their handler or given clear commands."

Melissa looked at the lumbering creature and spoke.

"Is there any way to stop it?"

"Yeah, the easiest part is for me to use the counter spells and reduce the golem to it's base components."

"Go ahead and do it then!"

"Hold your darn horses Merrill, I can't do that since I wasn't able to learn the counter spells in time since I left the Academy on other business that I needed to take care of."

Merrill groaned and glared at Naruto and was about to speak a biting retort when Naruto glared back and replied.

"That is the reason I was not in favour of this plan of your from the beginning Merrill, but there is another way you know."

Genie wondered what was about and then she recalled something about what Naruto said before.

"You said that Garret and Hayden used to sic their golems of you right? So you know how to destroy golems including that one."

(Finally someone managed to pay attention!)

"Right, the other option to defeat a golem is through sheer brute force, break it down hard enough so it would be easier to destroy, golems have level of regenerative ability and this one is kind of on the weak side, so enough attacks should be able to destroy the golem without it regenerating, and it had better be done fast before the golem decides to do something with the jar which might include destroying it."

"WHAT?!"

"Hey, it's one of the basic rules of war if I recall my history right, sometimes if you want to prevent an enemy from getting something valuable and there is no way to shield it, the best chance to do that is to destroy it so no one gets it at all. So we have to hurry before that thought gets into it's mind, if we do that before the thought comes into play then we're in the clear, and considering what that golem is made of then the best way...."

"AAAAAHHHHHH!!! COME HERE YOU STUPID GOLEM!!!!"

"MERRILL!!!"

Merrill took off after the golem like a rocket and so did Melissa and Genie, much to Naruto's dismay as he once more slapped his forehead in exasperation. He was about to tell them that considering what the golem was made of then he could easily stop it and what they might have in mind was not going to cut it, or rather cut the golem, but they were ahead of him and he wasn't able to tell them what was the best way to do this.

(Damn it....I wish they were not so gung ho about all this...)

(("Who are you kidding kit, you used to be like that yourself, remember?"))

(I know, I know....I guess there's no way around it.)

Naruto sighed as he decided to catch up with the others.

--------

Merrill, Melissa, and Genie thought that attacking the golem head on with blades, war-hammer, and physical force were going to be the best way to destroy the golem, but it seemed that their efforts were wasted on the attempt. Merrill's knives were absorbed into the golem when she threw them at it and they were absorbed, she tried using knife attacks but those also failed as the gashes healed up quickly, with the golem replying in kind to Merrill's attacks by flicking her with a finger on the forehead and sending her flying into the bushes nearby, just in the exact same way Tsunade had flicked Naruto backwards with her own finger when they first met.

Melissa's war hammer only knocked chunks away from the body of the golem and the filth was making the priestess cringe as the golem as a certain odour around it that made her sick along with some of the mud hitting her clothing.

Genie fared little better as her sword attacks were only cutting swaths on the mud without harming the creature as they closed up. The two of them attacked at the same time but the golem turned and flung out some of it's body to them, knocking them back and covering them with filth, mud, and other unmentionables. They were not happy and they could only watch as the golem carried on with it's mission.

"GIVE ME BACK MY DARLING JAR!!!!"

Merrill leaped out with a kick at the golem, her face in desperate fury as she had landed on a large pile of stinking garbage earlier, that helped to anger the thief as she rushed and attack the golem, the thief hit the target dead centre but to her horror the golem began to absorb her!

"MERRILL!!!"

The two watched as their friend was taken in, they feared the worse but then they saw a massive bulge appear on the golem and then a ball was fired out, a screaming ball as they spotted Merrill in the darn thing, the ball landed there and Merrill was showing the face of horror as she recalled how she had just been released by the golem and the two wrinkled their noses as the smell coming from the ball was best not to be described.

"Now THAT was disturbing."

They turned to see Naruto who was apparently trying not to laugh and Merrill was not happy along with Melissa and Genie.

"What is so funny Naruto?! You're not helping anyway!"

"I was going to help you all, when you decided to go after that thing without letting me finish. Look, that golem is not going to be stopped by swords, knives, kicks or hammers from Kami's sake! It's made of mud, clay, soil, dead plants, and all sorts of things best left unsaid, you really expect physical attacks would work on that kind of golem?"

Melissa and the others realized that meant and that made them feel somewhat defeated but then Naruto's words from before that he knew how to beat even this kind of golem came back into mind as Melissa spoke.

"You can stop it then, but how if physical attacks don't work?"

Naruto grinned and took out his wand and replied.

"How else? Magic AND a little chakra for a boost!"

Naruto focused his powers of magic well but before he cast the spell with his wand, he made the hand seals and created some support, after all, this was going to be a combination attack and he was going to do what he could to end this in one fell swoop.

"KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!!!"

There was now a Kage Bushin there in the area next to Naruto and as soon as the kage Bushin was there, it quickly charged right at the golem while Naruto began to charge up his power for the spell, he knew already that a golem made from the materials that were before him couldn't be destroyed by physical attacks but with magic, in this case, fire magic. But Naruto knew that time was of the essence as the golem approached some cliffs and no doubt the golem decided to destroy the jar to keep anyone from touching it.

He looked as his Kage Bushin avoided the attacks of the golem, using speed and agility to his advantage in battle and soon the kage Bushin was in front of the golem and began to use some quick hand seals, the Kage Bushin dodges another barrage of attacks from the golem and then leaped right at the golem, apparently replicating the very same move Merrill did before. But at that moment, Naruto, the real Naruto, cast his spell.

"Come Forth and burn down what is before you! Storm of Flames!"

The massive wave of flames came right at the golem and as soon as they came close the Kage Bushin also shouted out the jutsu.

"FUUTON! TATSUMAKI KUIKI NO JUTSU!!!!"

The technique that Naruto's Kage Bushin was something that Naruto developed when he was taking his training seriously, this was a personal jutsu that he had been able to make back in Konoha with the aid of both Sakura and Hinata with Sakura helping him learn how to control his chakra better and Hinata explaining the basics of the Kaiten to Naruto along with her own personal jutsu that was the Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho, along with recalling the training methods he underwent with learning the Rasengan and the Rasenshuriken.

This jutsu took advantage of Naruto's already present knowledge of the two main techniques he used to attack with and the help of both his girl friends, and in essence it allowed Naruto to use his chakra to create a spinning shell of chakra around himself in the same way that he used the chakra he had to create the shell of the Rasengan though in a larger form that was able to encase his whole body. The training from Sakura helped in allowing him to focus his chakra better so he was able to handle the needs of the jutsu, the shell of chakra then spun around and was able to take advantage of Naruto's Wind Nature Chakra. The end result was a jutsu that could defend Naruto by deflecting incoming attacks in the same fashion as the Kaiten used by his friend Neji and his girl friend Hinata, but in this case, the extra protection given by the wind as it would slice down anything that tried to get into it, mimicking the same power of Hinata's own Jutsu, the only difference was that Naruto was able to extend the wind that flowed around the sphere to increase it's cutting range more in the same fashion as the Rasenshuriken in it's perfected form, this gave Naruto a deadly power in terms of offense and defence, and even when not extending the blades outward, it was more than enough to cut anything foolish enough to hit it.

It had taken Naruto several weeks to a near month to master the technique, but it was complete and it was very deadly and it was something that Naruto treasured due to it being an original jutsu of his, and he thanked both Sakura and Hinata for helping him create it. Both women were happy and so was he in the success of the technique.

In this case however, Naruto used the jutsu to capture the intense flames of the spell he had cast as it was taken in by the sphere and now was inside the sphere of chakra and wind. He knew that Wind improved Fire's overall power and in his experimentation with the idea of fusing his jutsu with his newly acquired skills in combat magic, he discovered that even if the Fire was summoned by magical means, it was still improved by his Wind Chakra and that told him that he was now able to use his arsenal of jutsu with magic.

The result of his moves was seen as the flames were contained inside the sphere and the flames were now even more intense as it bathed the golem in a massive firestorm. The others were stunned by the sight of this as they had never seen this before in their lives. The sphere eventually failed as the chakra faded away with the controlling Kage Bushin having poofed away at that moment, and the flames died out in a fiery blast of heat, flame and light, but the damage was done as Naruto grinned warmly at the sight before him.

The golem was not turned into a nice hue of brown as it had been turned into a solid statue as the intense heat and flame that was amplified by the sphere of wind had cooked it in the same way as a potter would make a pot made from mud and clay in a kiln, only in a much larger way. Naruto grinned and replied.

"One golem statue in record time."

Melissa who had managed to get up was stunned at how Naruto had done that.

"Wow...."

Genie had to admit that was a feat and nodded slightly.

As for Merrill she was also struck speechless by what she had just seen.

Naruto then walked over to the statue and then cast another spell on the now fire hardened clay statue.

"Disintegrate!"

The blonde Chuunin and Sannin destroyed the clay golem by focusing on using the spell on the clay body, destroying the hardened shell as well as the rest of the form and as soon as that was done, there was the jar that had been the cause of all this trouble, Naruto sighed and could tell that the jar was no doubt steaming hot. At least he stopped it from being destroyed and when given some time it would cool. Now all he had to do was...

"MY DARLING JAR!!!!"

Naruto was shocked as Merrill, having freed herself from her prison charged right for the jar and he didn't need another minute to look at her to know what was going through her mind at that moment as he shouted out.

"MERRILL!!! STOP!!!!"

--------

Merrill paid no attention and was quick to hug the jar, only to discover that it was super heated, just as Naruto was about to warn her of it, the result was that Merrill had to let go of the jar and it rolled off to the cliff, Merrill cried out loudly at this and tried to go after it, much to the shock of everyone as she followed it off the cliff!

"KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!!!!"

Merrill did her best to grab her jar despite the pain in her hands from the burns but as she tried to hold onto it, she was stopped and saw that Naruto had just grabbed her, actually several Naruto's grabbed her as Naruto and his Kage Bushin stopped her from trying to commit suicide in getting the jar, she however managed to grab it and despite the pain she was happy, however that was when the jar hit the rock surface and that coupled with the heating made it brittle and it cracked open.

Merrill cried out as some of the money fell out and she watched as her money jar fell down to the river below her as her descent was stopped by Naruto.

"NO!!!! MY DARLING JAR!!!!"

"DAMN IT MERRILL!!! QUIT STRUGGLING!!!! YOU WANT US TO FALL OR SOMETHING?!?!"

Naruto's Kage Bushin tried desperately to hold the blonde ninja/mage up while he held Merrill and kept the woman from plummeting to her death in trying to catch her money jar, this was not the first time he used his Kage Bushin for this purpose, he had used them in keeping himself on Gamabunta's head when he was a kid as well as using this move as an offensive move when fighting Sasuke as well as rescuing Sakura from falling and more besides, but the feisty thief was giving him a serious headache as he tried his best to keep her from committing suicide as she tried to reach for the coins

"NO!!! I CAN'T LOSE MY DARLING JAR!!!!"

Merrill tried her hardest to go after it and Naruto was getting tired of this as he was trying his best to keep Merrill from freeing herself from his grasp. The blonde was getting tired and he knew for a fact his Kage Bushin were not going to last very long and then when they poofed off, this was not going to be a very good thing to say the very least. With that in mind, the blonde Chuunin and Mage shouted.

"EITHER LOSE THE MONEY OR YOUR LIFE, WHICH IS IT?!"

Merrill watched in her own horror as the jar and it's gold faded away, she began to cry and speak out.

"No....my darling jar...."

Naruto sighed and nodded to his kage Bushin as they began to get to the task of getting them up once more.

--------

In Ohfun...

Later, in an empty public hall, the three adventurers were recovering after those close shaves and so was Naruto and Ila, of course one of the said adventurers was in a very sad state. Merrill was moping and was in a very sorry state as she continued to mumble just one phrase.

"My darling jar....My darling jar... "

They had gone to the river to search for the gold as Merrill insisted they do, they looked for hours until dawn was coming and despite their wish to help Merrill, even Melissa and Genie had to agree with Naruto and they were able to drag Merrill away.

And now there she was before them, a completely broken down wreck.

Naruto couldn't help but shake his head and think to himself at the sight of the normally feisty Merrill turned into a blubbering mess, as much as he disliked her sharp tongue and prickly attitude, he didn't like seeing this version of Merrill very much..

(Man....she's got it bad....if this keeps up she's going to drive herself off the deep end...and I thought Hikaru's dad had it bad with the desire for money. Oh well, might as well see what I've got in that scroll of mine, there should be something in there that might get Merrill out this depression.)

Naruto left the took out the scroll that he used to store all his finds and smiled a bit as he took out a small sword that he had been able to find, the scabbard was kind of old and the leather was rotting but he knew a good deal when he found it. With that in mind, he walked back into the hall and spoke.

"Hey Merrill, catch!"

The thief turned and caught the item and looked at Naruto with a dejected eye.

"What the heck is this?"

"It's a little something I picked up in my travels, you can sell it to someone with a good eye for antique weapons, and don't start with the idea I'm selling you junk, a little cleaning of the blade and you'll be in for a treat. It's not your darling jar, but it be the next best thing....see ya! I'm going to be gone for a while since I've got to visit Carwess-sensei about some new records I need to look into."

Melissa and Genie looked at the weapon and wondered just what was this that Naruto had just given Merrill, the thing looked very old and might not be worth anything but some copper coins, barely enough to buy the things Merrill needed to make up for all she had lost in the fire. With that in mind, Melissa spoke to the others.

"What would Naruto mean by that? This thing hardly looks worth anything."

Genie however noted something odd about the blade and took it to hand, and was surprised to find the thing to be nearly weightless. She had never felt a sword like this before and spoke.

"I get the feeling this no ordinary sword....it's almost weightless."

"Eh?"

After trying it out form themselves, Merrill decided to risk it, if it was just a wooden sword, then she would be lucky to get even a copper coin for it.

Little did she know...

--------

In the Weapon shop...

Merrill had taken the time to clean it up a bit more and hoped that the weapon would at least look presentable after breaking the now ruined sheath, but she, Melissa, the weapon merchant and Genie were shocked to see that the short sword was gleaming like it was newly furbished and had rubies on the blade in a wine like pattern. The weapons dealer looked at the blade and gasped.

"A Taelsian Ceremonial Sword?! By Mylee....this is...."

Genie and the others were confused by this and Merrill spoke.

"A what?"

"This is a Taelsian Ceremonial Sword from the lost Dwarven Kingdom of the Iron Ridge Peaks. This is a real treasure and is more valuable than you know."

Melissa then spoke.

"What do you mean by that sir?"

"Listen, the dwarves of the Iron Ridge Peaks were considered as some of the finest craftsmen in the land of their birth, they were famous not just as craftsmen but as warriors and they were known to create beautiful weapons of great quality and construction, when they fell in the last wars long ago, they hid away all their weapons and treasures away, that was over eight centuries ago...and these swords were prized above all else....because it's made of mithril, not iron!"

The women's eyes widened at that as the weapons dealer spoke.

"These swords were crafted out of pure mithril which to today is considered a rare metal and is prized not just because it is light weight, but because it's so rare....one ingot of simple mithril is worth over two thousand pieces of gold! Even more so for fully purified mithril, and this entire sword is forged from purified mithril!"

Merrill was dumbfounded and spoke slowly.

"So how much is it?"

"Are you kidding me?! This sword is a priceless piece of work! Right now this could go for at least twelve thousand gold pieces! There's no way I can pay that, but if you sell it to someone with some major money and power....it could be worth over six times as much!"

That was enough to stun Merrill as well as Genie and Melissa....just WHERE could Naruto have found such a treasure?!

It was then that another voice came into play.

"Having fun yet?"

The three turned and there was Naruto, giving them a foxy grin as he leaned on the doorway, the blonde ninja/mage then laughed a bit and replied.

"Told you that it was the next best thing, maybe now you can pay those debts you all owe your collectors so I don't have to fork out anymore of my own money like last time, I hope you can say a proper thank you since you have NO idea how hard I had to work to get that sword. So I hope that someday you can pay me back for having to part with it"

The women were quiet until Genie spoke.

"WHERE could you have possibly gotten something like a Taelsian Ceremonial Sword?!"

Naruto laughed and replied while wagging a finger.

"Now like I told Conrad in the arena, I don't reveal all my secrets in one day... if you REALLY want to know, then you're going to have trust me more and not judge me with the snap of the fingers. If you can do that, then I might tell you, but if you continue to mistrust me and make assumptions about me which are wrong, then my lips are sealed, by the way....that NOT the only way I got the money to be on my own after leaving the Academy and then coming back to be roped in with you guys....bye!"

Naruto poofed away, revealing it to be a Kage Bushin, leaving the women dumbfounded. It seemed that there was MORE to Naruto than they thought.

--------

To be continued...

--------

.Author's Notes:

Now that wraps up this one, finally and now we get down to some more interesting things, now as to where Naruto got that sword, then I will explain soon enough, but here is an interesting question.

Apart from gathering some treasure here and there, our intrepid Naruto did have another source of income and it has nothing to do with being an assassin, so what is it?

If you want to know the answer, then wait for the next chapter as this will be a filler bit, but it will be something that will be interesting! This will also include Ila as well so this will be very interesting to say the very least.

Afterwards, we can get down to the celebration of the festival of Mylee, but that will not be the least bit peaceful so hold on to your hats and lunches!


	9. Chapter 9 filler

Rune Soldier Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Rune Soldier Louie so let's just leave it at that all right?

Chapter 8

Writer's Inspiration

( ): Thoughts/Conversation with the Kyuubi

(( )): Kyuubi's voices

--------

In the archives in the Magic Guild of Ohfun

Naruto yawned a bit as he looked over a number of tomes yet again that were high lighting events of the past in the kingdom and hoped to find something that would help him find the answer he needed to get back to Konoha soon so he could live his dream of being Hokage yet, the one thing he had not been able to accomplish. He smiled a bit more as he closed the tome and began to think back on how things had been after fighting Pain all those months before.

It had been a hard fight and it was sad that not everyone in Konoha could be saved as he recalled seeing to the funeral of his own sensei Kakashi; it hurt him like mad as he looked at the tombstone that had his sensei's name on it but he had a feeling that maybe his sensei was proud of him when he finally defeated Pain and even convinced him to finally end his reign. He recalled for a brief moment after Nagato died and his body along with the body his friend Yahiko and Konan leaving, he walked back to Konoha and as he leaned on a nearby tree due to exhaustion, and as he sat there he looked a bit to the direction of Konoha and recalled seeing the spirits of his Jonin sensei smiling at him along with his Sannin sensei and godfather Jiraiya. While it might have been an illusion or something....there was no denying that they were smiling and were proud of him.

The sight of the two men smiling at him before they faded away made him smile warmly as he got the strength to move on and was greeted by the villagers along with everyone.

It was a joyful and bitter moment for him when he looked at his village, he had gained the recognition he craved ever since he was young, and he finally proved himself to be a true hero. It was days after that when he looked for Hinata and talked to her about her confession before. Hinata had been avoiding him for a while and it worried him somewhat since it was not like Hinata to do such things since she would usually seek him out.

When he finally talked with her without interruption from anyone in the village, she admitted her long standing crush for him as well as her long time love for him. The two talked it over for a lot longer and it was there that he was able to learn a lot more of Hinata's love for him and how he had meant to her. It was quite a revelation to him to say the very least and afterwards, he asked her why she had been avoiding him if she really did love him, and she answered that she didn't know how he felt about her and knowing that he still loved Sakura, that was why she had been very hesitant towards him. He couldn't fault her for that as he still cared deeply for Sakura and he did love her, but after Hinata's confession as well as her nearly dying to save him when he first fought Pain was something that he had to consider. That was one of the hardest conversations he ever had and then told Hinata that he needed more time to think about it all.

Hinata didn't take offense and replied that she was willing to accept his decision, after finally letting him know the extent of her feelings after nearly ten years ever since she laid eyes on him, she felt very happy, and she would always love him until the very end. She also said that even if he chose Sakura over her, she was willing to accept that, and said that as long as he was happy she was happy.

That struck him hard in the gut as Hinata's words mirrored the very same things he felt when he saw Sakura crying over Sasuke when they brought him back after the fight with Itachi and Kisame long ago, he had felt great jealousy and anger, but he decided to put that aside since he wanted Sakura to be happy. Hearing that from Hinata who he could tell was also hurting inside as she said this was hard to say the very least.

It was not soon after this that he spoke to Sakura and she told him about Hinata's own confession when she had been wounded badly by Pain, and then she told him about Sai's own observations that she was the source of his pain, along with Sasuke. Naturally he was down right furious about that and vowed to bash Sai for running his mouth, but Sakura stopped him and told him that Sai was right...she didn't want him to suffer anymore for her sake, and she told him that the conversation with Sai made her realize the love he had for her, and how much pain she had placed on him by making him promise to bring Sasuke back to the village. She told him that when he had taken to allowing the Kyuubi to take over him in their battle with Kabuto and Orochimaru, and hearing that he was willing to even give up his soul and life to keep his promise was just the first part that made her decide to convince him to stop risking his life for her, and then the battle with Pain and the conversation then with Sai was the last straw. She wanted him to live and to be free of the pain that promise he made on her behalf placed on him.

She repeated that they were going to try and save Sasuke together, that had never changed, but they were also going to be ready to make a new future. He was confused by that until Sakura told him that she had finally realized not only the suffering she brought on him, but also the feelings she had developed for him as well, feelings that made her realize just how important he was to her, not just because he was her friend, but because he had done so much for her because he honestly loved her, and it was about time that she did something about those feelings that had been growing in her as well.

That further confused him until she told him that she had grown to care for him, and not just as a friend and team mate either, but something more, which was why she was not going to let him suffer anymore for her sake. She told him that she loved him, something that she had thought was not possible, but it was, she told him of how she had once thought he was a talentless idiot when they were younger but over the time they had been together, she had seen him for who he was and that made her happy to have him by her side. That was why she was not going to lose him, not to Madara, and to those who sought to harm him.

That further complicated things for him in many ways as this was unexpected and he wondered just how he had gotten into this kind of situation with both Sakura and Hinata.

Thankfully things had worked out in the end, after he defeated Madara to stop his Moon's Eye Plan and defeated Sasuke when he tried to help Madara wipe out the village of Konoha as well as doom the world into an illusion of peace, he managed to have a long talk with both Sakura and Hinata and it seemed to work out in the end, though he had not gotten that far just yet with the two of them since he had time to make a relationship work.

The blonde Chuunin smiled at the memory of that...and shook his head as he decided to focus on getting down to finding a way home, he missed all his friends too much to be stuck here forever, though this world was not all bad. There were plenty of adventures here that helped him grow stronger, and there were good people here as well like Carwess-sensei, Jenny-sama, and Ila-chan. Maybe he could find a way to make things work out soon enough but for now, he needed to relax.

He managed to gather all the information that he needed and placed it aside and would later talk to Carwess and Jenny for more details and see if they could help him fill in the gaps in his knowledge. He had already found a number of powerful artefacts but none of them were able to open dimensions as of yet so he was still in the dark in finding a way home so he still needed to keep looking.

It was then that he decided to check on another one of his storage scrolls, it was time for him to make some much needed updates. As soon as he got the scroll, he made the hand seals and made the command.

"Unseal!"

The contents of the scroll were now revealed and it was a collection of leather bound books with a lot of pages in them and as Naruto checked them out, he smiled a bit and decided to take out a quill pen and finish what was left in the books.

Since he had all day, he took his time as he wrote some more content into the books and he took a quick break by gulping down some nearby tea in a glass that he had brought with him to relax himself while he was doing his research, as soon as he was done with the writing, he bound up the books and then summoned a pair of Kage Bushin and told them to continue the research while he went off to deliver the books to a nearby shop. As soon as that was done, Naruto left the archives and as soon as he was assured that no one was following him, he moved off and arrived in the printing press that created books. He smiled in greeting to the owner of the place as the man smiled in greeting.

"Hey Naruto! Great to see you here after a while."

"Nice to see you Fallon, how's the shop?"

"Pretty darn good, those last books you turned in before were a hit, we were selling the copies just as they left the presses."

Naruto grinned and replied.

"Good to hear, so I take it you guys made a killing with the books?"

"Yeah, pretty much, we had to ship over twenty thousand copies all over the kingdom at this point, we burned out all our supplies, but I have more than enough money here to buy all the supplies I need for decades! And all thanks to you when you came to my humble shop all those months before."

Naruto laughed a bit at that and spoke.

"So how are you and Dana doing?"

Fallon grinned as he turned aside to let Naruto see a pretty woman telling stories to a trio of little toddlers and the woman smiled at Naruto as she walked up, revealing that she was with child. Dana then spoke to Naruto as she placed her arm on her husband.

"It's good to see you again Naruto."

Naruto smiled at Dana and replied.

"Nice to see you too, four kids....wow, you two HAVE been busy huh?"

Dana blushed and so did Fallon and the woman replied.

"It's your entire fault after all Naruto."

Naruto gave a mock hurt look and replied.

"You wound me Dana...and I thought you loved the works I made."

Dana laughed at that and replied as she rubbed her belly.

"I do and so does my husband....perhaps too much and you can see the results."

The group chuckled and Naruto handed over the books, bidding them farewell and headed off to the administration building for the staff in the Magic Guild and then smiled as he got the knowledge from the now dispersed Kage Bushin, he shook a bit from all the knowledge he got and hoped that maybe Carwess-sensei could fill in the gaps, he had a feeling that the senior head of the Magic Guild, having travelled for a long time before settling in to be head of the Guild might have gotten his hands on other records or recalled anything that would help him in his search for a way home.

As he made his way there, he wondered just what else was going to happen in the coming days, though he had a feeling that he was going to have some fun later on once he got back to the dorm room he stayed in, he still had some left over books that were blank and he could very well get back to writing some more good books, after all, he had more than enough material to help him create some fairly good ones.

--------

Two days later...

Melissa, Merrill and Genie were currently in their usual inn of choice and getting some food for break-fast today, the calls to work had been fairly dull at the moment and while the lack of any jobs or contracts grated on their nerves, the peace was actually quite welcoming. However the three of them were still confused as they ate and thought about a certain ninja/mage.

Merrill placed down her mug of ale and replied.

"I still can't wrap my head around it, how could HE have found such a treasure like that sword?! I've talked with some of my fellow Thieves in the Guild and they confirmed what that weapon dealer said, but those swords were so hard to find that they were considered as myth in the Guild...yet HE found one...."

Genie ate a piece her bread bun and after swallowing it and then offered her own take.

"Naruto's certainly shaping up to be an interesting person, though I'm still not sure what to make of him. He doesn't fight like a mage and that performance he had with Conrad told me he is no rookie with holding a sword, and what just happened days before shows that when he does use magic, he's quite competent"

Melissa nodded as she ate some of the meat that she had on her plate. They had been able to sell the weapon and amazingly, Merrill didn't resist the idea of giving away some of the money she had to them and they were once more able to use the money to lower their debts to their collectors, that had taken higher out in the red, and that was quite a change than where they were months before Naruto was declared by Mylee to be her Chosen Champion.

As she thought about it she began to wonder just what else was there with Naruto, he had already told them good deal about his own world and some of the people he knew of, though she had a feeling that he was hiding some parts of it, and quite adamantly as well. She had a feeling that Head priestess Jenny knew more about Naruto and so did Master Carwess, but they certainly were not going to tell her, and she had to admit that finding out for herself was rather....interesting.

It was then that Merrill spoke once more.

"You think he might have stolen it from somewhere or someone?'

Melissa looked at Merrill with some surprise and replied.

"What makes you say that Merrill?"

"I just can't place him being able to find such a treasure and no one n the Guild knows about it. So I can't help but wonder if he stole it from somewhere...maybe even a grave..."

"Merrill! Don't say that, you recall how unhappy Naruto was when he was told about the trees in the Tarsius Forest being the graves of Celecia's people? He didn't like the idea of robbing a grave in the very least so I doubt he stole it from a graveyard, the whole thing would be against his very person."

Genie and Merrill were surprised at that and the young thief spoke.

"Was I just imagining things, or were you defending him?"

"Huh?"

Merrill looked at Melissa and replied.

"What do you mean huh Melissa? You were just defending that guy..."

"Well....I mean....he's already done quite a lot, I mean he promised me that he would defeat Conrad and expose him for a fraud if i trusted him and he did just that. And if it hadn't been for him defending me when we fell into that floor in the ruin, then I would have been in real trouble....not to mention what he's told me already about himself. So the idea of him stealing that Ceremonial Sword from a graveyard sounds a bit too harsh."

Genie nodded a bit now that she thought about what Melissa said as she did recall that Melissa mentioned that Naruto was an orphan after all so she could understand what Melissa was saying.

"True....Naruto IS a man of his word and from my point of view it is somewhat hard to find men like that."

Merrill sighed and took a drink of ale.

"I guess...but there is too much we don't know about him anyway, we already know he's not your regular mage since some of those techniques are not anything we know mages do. I just can't trust him all that much, at least in my case, another thing I still can't figure out is where he had the money pay even half out debts."

Melissa cringed a bit as she recalled the verbal lashing she and the others got from Naruto when he told them he had visited their collectors and she had thought that he had killed them. The memory of that was something of a sore subject to her now that she thought about it. Eating crow was something Melissa was not used to, but she had to admit that she deserved the lashing after she learned that he did pay their debts with his own money. But she still had to admit that she was rather curious about how Naruto was able to get that much money in so short a time, they had been adventuring longer than he did since according to Ila he had only done so for a shorter time, yet he was able to pay half their debts, it was mysterious as well.

"Naruto might have found other ways to gain money Merrill."

"Maybe....but he was trained as an assassin right? He DID say that ninjas like him were trained as assassins."

Genie nodded and replied.

"Merrill does have a point there Melissa, he already showed that he is trained as an assassin and admitted to it as well, so he might have been hired to do some jobs that might fit his training."

"True....but there have been no reports of any important people being killed for a while now or before we met him, so I don't think....I don't think Naruto hired himself out as an assassin. Even if he does have the training he certainly doesn't use it, I mean, he could have easily killed Conrad if he wanted to after all, we all saw him fight with Conrad and even though I don't know that fighting style of his, he could easily killed Conrad if he wanted to in any part of that fight."

Merrill and Genie couldn't dispute that fact as well, Naruto could have easily killed Conrad if the fight was taken to that level. But if Naruto didn't hire himself out as an assassin, then how was he able to generate the kind of wealth to pay off their respective debts by half. The three mused it over until they were greeted by a voice.

"Hey!"

The three women jumped and there was Naruto next to their table, he had snuck up on them quite effectively and was giving them all a very curious look as he spoke to them.

"What's up with you guys? You all look like you've seen a really weird play in community theatre or something."

Melissa then managed to gather her wits and replied.

"It's nothing Naruto....we were just discussing..."

"Discussing me right?"

The three of them were stunned and the blonde merely shrugged at that and replied.

"I was in the inn a few minutes and decided to listen it a bit."

"You were eavesdropping on us?"

Naruto nodded and took a seat and managed to order some food himself and after having a bit to eat he replied.

"I was only able to get to the part of me being able to kill Conrad, as much as I was tempted to do so, doing that would have caused some ramifications that would be best avoided, so humiliation was in order, besides, humiliation might not be permanent as death, but is' more satisfying. Anyway, is there any new jobs at the moment?"

Genie shook her head at that.

"Not at the moment, but we'll drop by the job market to see if there are any groups willing to hire out escorts, it might not earn as much, but it's not like we've got much choice on the matter at the current situation."

Naruto nodded a bit, things were kind of slow and he sighed.

"I guess....normally I would have been happier going on with a few friends back home, or even watch a new movie made by Koyuki-hime, I hope she's..."

The blonde Chuunin realized that he was talking about something the girls he was with had no idea about and smiled at them and replied.

"Sorry, a movie....is like a play as well, but is different where I come from, and as to who Koyuki-hime is, she's a princess I knew of when I was younger and I served as her body guard."

Melissa raised an eyebrow at that and so did Genie and Merrill as Genie spoke.

"You served as a body guard for a princess? I thought ninjas like you were assassins."

"Yes, but we also serve as spies and as hidden body guards, make us wear simple peasant clothes and carry concealed weapons we can catch any would be attacker off guard since they'll think we're regular people."

He took out a kunai and spun it around his finger through the hoop on the end of the handle as he smiled at them.

"This weapon of ours, the kunai, happens to resemble a gardening knife so imagine walking into a courtyard filled with gardeners and you think they will break and run when you attack the place and their lord....only you find yourself attacked by the gardeners who are all well trained ninja and you're either dead or taken alive. Quite the deception huh?"

Merrill had to admit it sounded clever, if Naruto had been wearing farmer's clothes, then anyone would have considered him a peasant. Genie also nodded at that while Melissa decided that maybe she could get to know more about Naruto as jenny suggested, she already knew some things about him so she should at least try to get more.

"So who is this Koyuki person?"

Naruto smiled a bit as he recalled Koyuki as well as the adventure his mission turned out to be and replied.

"Koyuki-hime was an actress under the name of Yukie Fujikaze when I first met her, to tell you the truth I was a big fan of hers when I thought she was just an actress....but then..."

Naruto then elaborated the time he and his group had travelled to the Land of Snow and discovering that the actress he was escorting to the movie site was indeed a real princess. It was hard as he told them about the whole deal and how he and Koyuki didn't get along very well and her own past as well. He told them of the resulting time he was imprisoned in trying to save her from that traitor of an uncle and how they had talked about his past though he omitted any mention of the Kyuubi as well. He talked about the battles afterwards and when he and Sasuke fought Koyuki's uncle and helped realize the dream of both Koyuki's father and that of many others.

"Then I blasted him with the Nanairo No Rasengan and off he flew....that bastard slammed hard into the generator and then fell off as the generator came online and them it was beautiful! The whole place turned from a valley of snow, rock, and ice to a beautiful valley of flowers, green grass, sunlight, and rainbows...it was awesome! I looked to see Koyuki-hime smiling for the first time, not a fake smile and she began to cry tears of joy for the first time in ten years ever since seeing her homeland being burned and knowing that her father was dead."

As soon as Naruto wrapped up the story with him telling them how Koyuki had become ruler of the Land of Spring/Snow and how she still was an actress as she dreamed herself to be when she was still a child, and to the three women's surprise, Naruto blushed a bit as he told them of the picture he got of her kissing him while he was in the hospital.

Melissa was quite surprised by this latest revelation and looked at Naruto more closely to try and see if he was lying, but considering how he spoke then he must be telling the truth.

Genie was curious about that as well and so was Merrill and Naruto finished his meal and decided to take his leave.

"Anyway, I've got to make some purchases today so I'll see you all later."

With that, Naruto forked out another payment to the inn keeper and headed off to the marketplace, he had run out of ink and as well as couple of writing supplies that he needed to complete on another set of books that he planned to pass to Fallon by the end of the month since there wasn't much to work with and he was in the mood to put the rest of his imaginings to the letter.

This left Melissa and company to think about what they had just learned about their blonde ninja/mage companion.

--------

In the Temple of Mylee...

Jenny was busy taking the time to watch the students training when Melissa showed up and the two decided to speak together since it had been some time since their last discussion. And what she heard from Melissa made Jenny smile a bit more.

"Ah....you defended him, I must admit that hearing that from you Melissa is quite a change on your part then."

"Well, I guess it was, but he has done a lot already so I guess doing that was the least I could do."

"The least that you could do for Naruto? Melissa, considering how things first started out between you and Naruto before, that's quite a leap of change for you, so has Naruto revealed anything of himself to you already?"

"Yes, he mentioned that he served as a body guard to a princess named Koyuki and apparently....changed her for the better."

"Ahhh....he told you that story, I must admit that when he told me about that I was somewhat surprised that he served as a body guard when he was younger. But considering how things turned out for the princess and her homeland I'd say that he did the right thing. Quite an achievement for someone of his age don't you think so?"

"I guess....but I feel that there is a lot more than he lets on Miss Jenny."

Jenny nodded at that, she knew the full story of Naruto's life which was why she chose him to teach Melissa the true face of the world. Naruto learned that in his own world but he made his world better for the people her cared about in life which was why he was considered a hero in his world, but she wanted Naruto to teach Melissa that the world is not at all like the story books she had read growing up, Naruto in his world had seen both the best and the worst of it all and knew just how to deal with it, considering his own inner burdens. With that in mind she spoke to her student.

"That's because Naruto is not the sort of person to tell all there is about himself, some of the things he had dealt with in the past when he was younger were quite harsh and difficult for him Melissa, but if he told you some things about himself already, then I guess he must be willing to trust you already to some degree, the fact that you are defending him tells me that you do show some trust in him."

"I guess."

"Good, just remember that you need to know Naruto a lot better than just relying on what you first think of him. He might surprise you yet."

"That's what worries me Miss Jenny."

"Oh?"

"I mean....I hope the next time I learn something about my champion I don't find something that will be too embarrassing."

Jenny laughed a bit at that and nodded.

"I suppose, anyway, the only way to find out is to go ahead and do it and the things we least expect do make life interesting and not dull. Before I forget though, I would like to tell you Melissa that we still have some time before the Mylee Appreciation Festival so I suggest you take the time to enjoy yourself before you work on the festival."

Melissa smiled a bit at that, the fact that the festival was going to be on in a few weeks was something that she was looking forward to since she never lived in Ohfun before, and that meant that it was going to be her first time in the festival. She was looking forward to doing her very best for the festival to show her dedication and appreciation to Mylee. But for now she had to deal with her current relationship with Naruto as her chosen champion.

--------

At the job market...

Naruto arrived in the job market, the one place where job openings, contracts, and the like were posted for anyone looking for work to look at. Naruto was able to spot Melissa, Merrill, and Genie so he joined up with them. Merrill then replied that they had managed to get some jobs escorting some caravans of good and supplies along with books to another city a fair distance away from Ohfun, it was not paying much, but it was a good job since the food and drink on the trip was free for them all and they needed escorts since bandit groups were known to be around. Naruto was more than willing to go along and decided to get some things ready.

Hours later, the group met up with the caravans and Naruto spotted someone very familiar to him among the members of the travelling convoy.

"Fallon!"

The man smiled warmly and greeted the blonde ninja/mage and then spoke to Naruto.

"it great to see you Naruto! I take it that means you're going to be part of the escort group?"

"Pretty much, so what are you transporting and where are you headlining?"

"We're heading off to the port city of Fydan to the south as well as make some pit stops to sell some of the extra wares to the nearby towns, and of course with me being head of the transportation of books to the stores in those said locations, you can bet what I'll be selling."

Naruto laughed at that, making the three women wonder just what was Naruto laughing about with the man, but decided to put that aside for the time being as the convoy got underway, Naruto naturally was more than eager for the chance to travel and he began to chat with the caravan masters apparently getting some of the latest news from outside of Ohfun, it was also when Melissa discovered that Naruto seemed to have a considerable degree of interest in looking for magical artefacts but it seemed that he was interested in one class of such artefacts, namely those that were bent on making portals.

Melissa knew that such artefacts were lost over time and were even outlawed in her time studying in the Temple, she also realized that those devices were very hard to find, let alone use since records of their exact locations were either lost, destroyed, forgotten or were intentionally altered to discourage seekers of such power.

(Why is Naruto interested in such things?)

Melissa decided to shelve that question aside for the time being as she and the others focused on helping escort the caravan to the set destinations. As the travels continued she noted that Naruto began to take out some books and began to write in them, making her all the more curious what he was writing about, no doubt memoirs, but he didn't seem like the bookish type of person, unlike his studious friend Ila.

There were also times when they stopped to rest in either to wilds or in an inn that Naruto usually seemed to be writing in those books and whenever he and Fallon were talking about what he wrote the man would laugh and smile as well as even blush, making Melissa all the more curious what was going on between the two and what was it about Naruto's writing that made a grown man like Fallon blush. The caravans would routinely stop and allow them to rest and clean up in nearby rivers or lakes or in inns, Naruto was content to be writing a great deal and whenever she was able to see him, he usually had a smile on his face as he continued to write on those blank books of his.

They eventually arrived to some of their key destinations and it was there that Naruto would accompany Fallon as well as the others in selling books and it seemed that the books were selling right off the shelves as soon as people arrived to look at the selections that were given away. Naruto seemed to be very pleased by all this and that made things even more interesting to the blonde priestess.

Just what was Naruto writing about?

--------

A week later back in Ohfun...

Naruto and the others were currently taking the time to move about in the marketplace in Ohfun with Ila in tow and at the moment and the blonde Chuunin was in the mood to relax after a very interesting week of helping escort some more caravans and this was a good chance to unwind from the time they spent on the road, the overall earning they had were pretty good so it seemed that they could take some time off from adventuring. They were not yet rolling in the gold, but at least they were not heavily in debt.

Merrill was still confused as to how Naruto had been able to make this much money in so short a time and she was itching to know just what was the secret the blonde ninja/mage had to getting that much gold without seemingly any effort that she could see.

Genie did the very same thing and wondered how Naruto got so much money, not to mention the fact that she wanted to know just how he was able to fight the way he did, she wanted to test her battle hardened skills against this style Naruto called Kenjutsu, or something like that. However, she decided to reserve that for another time.

Melissa and Ila were also around to relax since there was not much for them to do at the time and the peace was actually helping them relax more, Ila however had hoped to get Naruto alone so they could have some time for themselves but Melissa and company were there so despite her dislike of the situation she had to let things be.

Just as the group moved about, a large carriage came into the area and was escorted by a number of well armed guards in full weaponry and armour, indicating that whoever was the one in the carriage was of high rank and nobility, as soon as the carriage stopped, out walked a noble, and a young one at that with short cut hair and the regular rich robes and clothing that befitted a noble. Naruto and the others were about to move on with their own thing when the noble spotted Naruto and called out to him.

"YOU!!! HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!!"

The group stopped and so did the rest of the people in the marketplace as the guards of the noble moved forward with their eyes on the blonde ninja/mage intent on something to do with him, this naturally startled the others as they wondered just what was going with Naruto and this nobleman who seemed to be very serious and demanding about something. Merrill was naturally the very first to speak to Naruto about this matter.

"All right Naruto! What the heck did you do to this guy that's so bad he recognizes you right off the get go?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders at that question since he didn't exactly have any answers to that question to begin with.

"Beats me, I've never even met him."

Genie knew that attacking a noble was a bad thing and was grounds for imprisonment or execution. She had no idea what was going on here and while she hoped that this situation would be resolved peacefully she had to be ready though she hoped that Naruto had an explanation for this situation that suddenly came out of nowhere. Melissa wondered just what was going on and hoped that even though she had no idea as to what was going on before her, she would be able to smooth things over as the noble came ever closer to the blonde ninja/mage.

The noble then reached into a bag and then presented a book at Naruto's face and still having that steely expression and asked Naruto a question.

"Did you write this book?!"

Naruto read the title and to the surprise of everyone in his party, including Ila, he smiled.

"Yes I did, do you like it?"

The rest watched, holding their breath as they waited for the worst to happen, but it didn't, and to their shock, the noble smiled and nodded with a very happy expression, and the guards also smiled and presented the exact same copies and the noble spoke.

"It is an honour to meet you then my good sir, if it hadn't been for your book, my wife and I would have never been able to recall how much fun it could be to be married. tell me, do you happen to have another book in circulation or a new one?"

Naruto nodded, after all that happened to him and the fall of Madara's plans, he decided to honour his Sannin sensei and Godfather Jiraiya by taking over the Icha Icha series, he was able to write the new editions after a year or so when he finally got to relax after the battles with Madara and Sasuke, using his experiences with the women he met in his time growing up and taking missions as a ninja, though he naturally changed the names to make sure that no one knew who the women were in the story....just like Jiraiya did to prevent retaliation.

Thankfully his efforts to do the same kind of work his Godfather made were so good that he was able to make another sizable fortune that was added to his already present fortune back in Konoha, he had been planning to write a new series of the books when the portal opened and he landed here in this world, and after months being here in this world he decided to try his luck and write the series once more, and lo and behold, it became a hit here and he was once more making a killing, which was how he managed to gain quite the fortune that he wisely spent and kept hidden in the right way.

Of course like his former sensei, he also wrote something of a novelized semi-autobiography of his life as a ninja, using his own name and the series of stories highlighted many of the events that changed his life, and the people that he knew who helped him grow stronger as well as the battles he had been in ever since he left the Academy and became a Genin, of course he omitted some of the references to his demon resident in his stomach to make sure that his still active status as a Jinchuuriki was kept a secret. He honestly thought about writing those stories as a way to remember his life and his own adventures just for the fun of it and thought that maybe it might change the world just like the novel that his Godfather wrote that gave him his name and also gave him the knowledge to bring about the change that Jiraiya and his father wanted. And maybe even inspire other like the way he inspired others too like his friend Gaara, Neji, and even his girl-friends Hinata and Sakura.

That was a wishful dream, but who was to say how it might turn out?

"I happen to have written a new batch of stories and it will take some time for those stories to be made since I ran out of some of my needed writing supplies."

The noble then reached into his bag and took out a large purse filled with gold coins and the guards gave their own bags as well. In the end, Naruto was hefting at least a dozen or more small bags filled with gold coins as the noble spoke with great respect to him.

"Here, this should ensure that you will have more than ample funds to make it a complete set of books, we'll be waiting kind sir, see you, I have yet to finish the seventh chapter."

"Good, I hope you and your men will enjoy the books you have and the new ones soon to come."

The noble and his guards smiled as they left. As soon as they were gone, Melissa spoke to Naruto.

"You wrote books? I wasn't aware that you were a novelist Naruto."

Naruto grinned and replied.

"I wrote the Icha Icha Chronicles as a hobby to pass the time actually, as well as to honour a very important person in my life who trained me before, I started a few months after I left the Guild and before I came back, I actually had no idea it would be so popular with the people, in fact we were selling those books when we were escorting the caravan, remember?"

The others in the party were confused at that name since it was not something they were all that familiar with as Genie spoke.

"The what Chronicles?"

Ila then nodded as she recalled seeing some of her father's friends reading books like that in their spare time and she even saw her father and mother reading those books along with her uncles, aunts, and cousins. At one point she was even able to spot Master Carwess reading another book with the same title and he also seemed to enjoy it.

"I've heard of it, it's quite a popular book among many of the citizenry and it seems now to the nobility as well, namely with the men and married couples too. I never thought you would be the writer Naruto."

Naruto just grinned at that and as they moved about, the group spotted a nearby book store and found some of the copies of Naruto's books still there and Naruto watched as the others bought a copy of the book and as soon as they were out of the market place and in the area where Genie's house was, they read it in the hut that Genie lived in.

Needless to say that all of them blushed so much that their blushes matched the colour of Genie and Ila's red hair. They all looked at Naruto with shocked expressions.

"YOU WROTE THESE INDECENT BOOKS?!"

Naruto replied with a smile.

"Guilty as charged, and I got my inspiration from the people I met in my own travels so some of the characters in the books are based from you all, don't worry, I changed the names so no one knows who the ladies are in real life anyway. I got a lot of inspiration from all the people I met before so the books were a success. You three wondered just where I got the money I have? Well, those books are the answer."

Melissa blushed bright red as she read the book completely from beginning to end once more to be sure that her eyes were not deceived by the contents, and it wasn't long before she couldn't help but look at the grinning blonde ninja/mage and spoke.

"You...You mean to tell me you got ALL the money you have....by writing all THIS?!"

"Yeah I did, you'd be surprised how many buyers I got when I gave out the first series of books, I thought of all of it was going to land in some junk heap somewhere or even be used as cheap fuel for a fire place, but the readers fell in love with all the books that I was able to write. It's not like it's a bad thing actually."

"But....it's so...."

"Realistic? Intriguing? Arousing"

"No! It's unlike the romance novels that are around!"

Naruto grinned a bit and replied.

"Hey, you can't say that people aren't like that in private when they get intimate with their partners Melissa. Besides that, romance is not limited to flowery decorations and sweet words, there IS the physical aspect of the whole thing. And just so you know, some novels that I read that touch on the romance subject that you speak of had a lack of that so I figured why not add some of my own to really spice up the romance areas? I did it as a hobby after all, I had no idea I'd be making a killing out of it. Besides, it's a lot better than hiring myself out as an assassin right?"

Melissa looked at the ground a bit and had to admit Naruto did have a point there since he was not doing anything that involved killing people, but she was still shocked and slightly disturbed by the discovery that he wrote such.....erotic books as she replied.

"I guess....you're right, but still, to think you have such a perverted sense of romance...."

"Perverted? I prefer the term more mature oriented thank you very much. Besides that, the readers who buy the books are all consenting adults and they like it, otherwise those novels wouldn't be selling like hotcakes so to speak. And it helps that I have something to pass the time when I need to take a break every now and then."

Melissa was still very shocked to find that her champion had such a vivid imagination when it came to such mature matters, and she had to admit that the books he wrote were quite....intense, she then gave Naruto a serious look and spoke.

"Are WE in these books too?"

Naruto then teased them.

"No....but I can put you in the next editions if you like."

The women's answer to that?

Mentally, Genie, Melissa, and Merrill thought only one phrase.

(HE'S A PERVERT!!!!!)

Ila's own thoughts on the matter?

(I had no idea...)

And their physical reaction?

THUD!

Naruto decided to try and help them all up as they all had fainted, he KNEW he was going to get a LOT of flak from them when they woke up. But then again, where was the fun in life without the risks?

--------

To be continued...

--------

Author's notes:

That wraps up this filler so now we can get back to the rest of the story, but at least we now have an idea where Naruto got most of his money and it certainly beats having to be an assassin and possibly starting a war in a world that's not his own.

The fact that Naruto became a novelist, mirrors the same way Jiraiya amassed a fortune in money back in the Naruto world when he was alive, so you can bet that Naruto's naturally present perverted tendencies that got boosted by his time with Jiraiya had really come in handy when it comes to raking in the coins, which explains how he was able to have money to pay for HALF of the debts owned by Melissa, Merrill, and Genie. It also shows that unlike his Godfather, Naruto is willing to spend his own money if he thinks he needs to.

Of course since he's doing the same things Jiraiya did before, who's to say that the other series of books he wrote about his life as a ninja MIGHT indeed inspire others in the world he's part of now until he gets home and since he did it for months before becoming part of Melissa's group, you can bet that those books that highlight his life have been read by others?

Food for thought huh?

--------

Anyway, on the topic of the errors on the previous chapter, you have to remember that I have too many projects to deal with, plus I do have real life to deal with so I don't always have the free time to check all the errors in my work, not to mention that I have to deal with all manner of details since I am taking a secondary course in Education. So forgive me if the errors are there so don't hesitate to correct me and point out the flaws all right?

And for those of you who comment on the story and say that it has a lot of areas that are bad or outright crappy, I am not taking offense to that as you all have the right to voice your opinions, but I do want to make it clear that if you have a problem with some parts of the story, keep in mind that I DO have plans to fill in the gaps later on so don't make assumptions right off the bat all right?

Let me flesh out the story even more and when I am finished, then you decide, all right?


	10. Chapter 10

Rune Soldier Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Rune Soldier Louie so let's just leave it at that all right?

Chapter 10

Festival Party

( ): Thoughts/Conversation with the Kyuubi

(( )): Kyuubi's voices

........

In the city of Ohfun...

........

The city was active as it always was in normal days, but the Temple of Mylee had other things on schedule at the moment as today was the day that the Mylee Appreciation Festival was soon underway. The priestesses were moving about and getting all that they could ready for the grand festival, food was brought in, games were to be prepared for the people to take part of, and more besides.

While it was a religious festival by all standards, it was also a day of celebration for the people as the people of Ohfun were eager to get into the temple to celebrate with the priestesses. This was not lost to Naruto who currently was on top of the Tower of the Magic Guild writing in his new series of books, he looked down to the city and began to think about how things were back in Konoha, when he finally got through the Chuunin exams and became a Chuunin he was able to spend it by sitting on the Hokage Monument next to the face of his father, along with Sakura and Hinata.

He enjoyed the solace as he looked at his village with his two girl friends and they shared a good dinner, those were one of the times he would have gotten his chance to take things between him and the two ladies to a higher state but he knew that he would be asking for trouble if anyone caught them so he didn't get the chance.

That train of thought was not lost to Sakura and Hinata either but they decided that when and if they decide to take it to the next stage, they were going to do it in a more private setting, besides it was better this way, though a lot of people in Konoha have already changed their views on Naruto and see him as both hero, and legend as well as a future Hokage, it might surprise them if Naruto got them pregnant.

The blonde blushed at the thoughts that came to his head and managed to place them aside and turned just as Ila came into view, apparently she had been able to find him easily enough.

"Out here again Naruto?"

"Yeah, the view of all of Ohfun here's great!"

"Along with the dangers, I'm amazed you haven't fallen as of yet. Another ninja technique?"

"Yep....anyway, you are planning to join the festival today?"

Ila nodded at that and replied.

"Of course, it is a good way to relax after all the tests and home work that we have to file up here in the Magic Guild, and this is some private time for others as well."

Naruto grinned a bit as Ila sat next to him, she was well aware that she was courting danger being like this on the Tower of all things, but with her blonde friend around, she didn't mind, however, she then decided to be a bit more open about some matters. After discovering that her friend was a novelist and reading some of the books he made, she was in the mood for some time with him.

She never revealed it to Naruto, but ever since she had found out that he wrote those books, she had taken the time to buy a few of her own, for her own benefit and had to admit that it was rather interesting. She knew for a fact that there were some of their fellow male students and even some of the female students who bought such books as well, so why shouldn't she?

"By the way Naruto, are you making a new book soon?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head on that one and replied as best he could.

"Yes, though I have to think up some new materials....why are you asking?"

Ila grinned and gently ran her finger on Naruto's cheek making him a bit surprised at the gesture as it seemed that Ila was actually trying to seduce him, which surprised Naruto a bit, he waited and she replied.

"Well....maybe....I can help you with your need for materials."

"What?"

Ila grinned in a very mischievous manner at that as she decided to make her affections towards Naruto a bit more obvious, it was unlike her, but if Naruto had a thing for writing such books, then she was going to make her move and really give her object of affection something to write about. But before things could get any further, the two were greeted by none other than Master Carwess himself who was currently using a spell to allow him to fly up to where they were....right in front of them...startling the pair.

The usually stern Head Master of the Magic Guild raised an eye brow and replied.

"Hmmm...it seems that I was interrupting something."

Ila blushed and moved away while Naruto managed to control his own blush which made Carwess smirk a bit more and decided to stop trying to embarrass the two as he coughed a bit and spoke to them seriously.

"Now as you are aware, the city of Ohfun is having the Mylee Appreciation Festival today and we've managed to give some support for the festival to be worth the effort, so I am planning to have you two go there and keep an eye on things."

Naruto raised an eye brow at that and wondered just what was Master Carwess getting and like the young man that he was, he decided to speak to the head of the Magic Guild.

"Why would you want that Carwess-sensei?"

"Let's just say that we are using a number of new magical devices that are a bit....tricky to say the least. They are golems that are powered by special magical crystals that allow them to do certain actions and motions as if they were alive. Sort of like puppets on strings, but without any living or breathing person manipulating them."

Naruto raised an eye brow and replied.

"Those golems sound like the Puppets used in Suna."

Ila looked at Naruto and was confused by that and spoke.

"What do you mean by that Naruto?"

"Well, back where I come from, there's a ninja village in the Land of Wind known as the village of Hidden Sand of Suna in our language. There are a number of ninjas there who are gifted in the use of battle puppets which they manipulate using chakra strings. Those puppets can take human form if needed and can also be animal form, and naturally they can be used for attack and defence when needed in battle, my friend Gaara's elder brother Kankurou, is by far one of the best puppet users in their village, though....there were others like Chiyo-obasan and....that guy from Akatsuki...named Sasori. Both of them were the finest users of puppets in the village, though they are already dead."

Ila wondered about that and wanted to know a bit more about this and the same could be said for Carwess.

"Just how good are these Puppets in battle?"

Naruto through back on all the things he heard about the art of puppetry in Suna and as soon as he organized his thoughts, he gave his answers.

"The ninja users of the Puppets of Suna are long range fighters and the more skilled the ninja is with the fighting style, they can use fewer chakra strings to control the Puppets and can control more Puppets in battle, they can even use those chakra strings to control real people like puppets as well. The Puppets themselves can carry a lot of combat equipment, like shields, hidden blades, needle guns, poison cloud throwers, and a lot more, some of them can even do jutsu through the use of the chakra from their puppeteer. I know for a fact that Kankurou carried at least several puppets into battle. And he was very good with them when the time for fighting came and I know that since I've seen him in battle myself."

"I see..."

"And as to how powerful the puppets are....Chiyo-obasan's set of personal puppets were powerful enough to have helped her destroy an entire castle and it's garrison in one day."

Ila was shocked and replied.

"You're kidding?! How do you know that?"

"Sakura-chan told me a few days before, and the other Puppet user...Sasori, could control at least a hundred Puppets and he said that he could and had brought down an entire country with them in his command. That's all Sakura-chan told me then as well as how the battle turned out in the end, she didn't get into more details."

And that was true, Naruto didn't get much else from Sakura about her battle with Sasori with Chiyo at her side, but the only things he did know that they had won that battle, he had a feeling that there was more to that battle than what Sakura had told him, but he wanted to let Sakura tell him of the battle in her own time so he didn't prod any deeper than that.

Carwess thought it over and spoke to Naruto.

"You're saying that this....Sasori controlled a hundred of these Puppets into battle Naruto? He must been quite formidable in battle then. At any rate, I would like it if you and Ila would take part in the festival for this day, to keep an eye on them. The improper construction of the devices used on those golems might cause some considerable panic if they get out of hand. "

Naruto nodded at that and replied.

"Sure thing Carwess-sensei, if those golems get out of line, I'll do what I can in any case."

Carwess nodded at that and left, only this time it was through the stairway that Ila had used earlier to get to Naruto, once they were along, Ila began to think about what she learned from Naruto, considering what she learned about his world, it must really be a world of great power and mystery, she then thought about it and wondered if Naruto had people waiting for him. There was no doubt in her mind that Naruto had friends and family waiting for him, and no doubt, another woman who would be after his heart and that was something that made the young mage very much worried, but she couldn't help but admit that Naruto did have good traits which would no doubt attract another woman to him, but she was not going to give up on Naruto any time soon, but she was curious if the woman who is after Naruto was like him as well.

........

As for the others?

........

In a nearby tent...

Melissa sighed as she carried a box while she was with Janet, Ann, and Joan in her first Mylee Appreciation Festival, this was true since she had not been in Ohfun when the first festival started so despite maintaining her control and focus, she was rather eager to take part in the festival itself, however she knew that her enthusiasm was slightly dampened by the knowledge of her latest discovery of how her champion was able to make money in the amounts that he had when they met him.

(I can't believe that my champion is an erotic novelist....if anyone else knew he does that.....)

Melissa blushed a bit at the thought and couldn't help but feel some level of discomfort at the memories of how she had talked with Jenny about it. The head Priestess was not offended and she had told Melissa that physical intimacy was going to happen when one was in love after all with another at some point in their lives. That certainly didn't make things any easier on her at the thought of anyone finding out that her champion wrote such books.

The three women were chatting away as they too were eager for the party and that helped Melissa relax and then Joan spoke to her.

"Is this your first time in the Mylee Appreciation Festival Miss Melissa?"

"It is, though I hope that things work out all right."

That was when Janet and Ann spoke out concerning someone.

"By the way, have you seen Naruto anywhere?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"I was thinking that maybe he could come by and try some of these things we made for the festival, I can bet he's going to be happy to finally take a break from all the work they have there back in the Guild."

Melissa sighed and replied.

"Then we'll wait and see...let's get back to work girls."

"Right!"

The work helped Melissa focus her thoughts away from the memories of finding out that her champion wrote such indecent novels and in time she forgot about it, she still wondered just what else was there about Naruto that she had not learned about yet, but decided that now was not the best of times to be dwelling on such things, it was then that she was made aware of the arrival of several other people, and she turned to greet them.

"Good day to you, I have to apologize but at the moment we're...."

"Good day to you Melissa."

Melissa recognized that voice very easily and just as quickly recognized the person who owned that particular voice. The person was a Mylee Priestess like her and she was blonde as well, the only difference was that the woman had tanned skin and was slightly taller than Melissa herself, her hair was also in a different pattern and style.

She was none other than Isabelle, her rival so to speak. Back when she first joined the Mylee Priesthood, Melissa had done her absolute best to be one of the top Priestesses in the Temple, the only one who was her equal and her rival was Isabelle herself. The two of them had long since been bitter rivals and had done what they could in order to beat the other. Ironically, Isabelle had some similar ideas as Melissa had on an ideal champion. This was the only thing that the two rivals had in common.

Isabelle smiled and spoke to Melissa.

"So, I heard that you already had your turn with the Visitation by our God Mylee, so did he grant you your Chosen Champion Melissa?"

The blonde priestess then found herself in something of a bind, on one hand she was still not very sure that she could accept the fact that her Chosen Champion was trained as an assassin, he was not a dashing knight with the manners she had envisioned, he spoke his mind freely without regard for social graces as well as rules, he ate like a pig, and to make things worse, he wrote erotic novels. If Isabelle ever found out about all of that, she would use it to needle her to no end.

On the other hand, he was compassionate, brave, very capable, and had an amazingly strong moral compass as despite being trained as an assassin, he has never taken a life. Naruto also happened to be rather honourable and was quite capable of being a man of his word due to his defeat of Conrad. Those were good things as well in a hero as she thought about the whole thing more. Not only that, Naruto had NOT asked her to sleep with him, showing that he had a strong sense of kindness when it came to women, another respectful thing that he did have in his person.

These thoughts whirled in her mind until she decided that maybe it would be better that she would be truthful to Isabelle and tell her.

"Actually Mylee has revealed to me my Chosen Champion already."

Isabelle's expression remained the same but inside she felt some level of anger as she had hoped that Melissa had not succeeded in finding a Chosen Champion. She however was rather curious about something, as she knew that if Melissa did have her Chosen Champion; shouldn't she be where he was as well?

"I see....so where is your Chosen Champion Melissa?"

"He is currently taking care of some other matters and since we're not in an adventure at the moment, he's not here with me."

"I see, any way I would like to meet this Champion of yours someday, not to mention I would be really interested to see how yours will fare when I meet my own Champion soon. At any rate Melissa, I bid your farewell since I will also be doing my part in the Appreciation Festival, see you later."

As soon as Isabelle and her companions left the area, Melissa sighed a bit to herself and decided to get back to work and told the three younger priestesses to also get back to work as they knew that they needed to get things ready for the festival soon.

........

Merrill was currently trying to earn money once more with the sale of barbecued meat that she and Genie had been able to catch and she was eager to have some more money inside her pockets once more. However she was not having much luck for now and Genie herself was busy trying to find other things to do for the moment as she was still taking time to think about several other matters.

One such matter was what she had seen a certain blonde ninja do, the woman had to admit that his skills with a sword were very good despite the rather unorthodox way he fought with Conrad before, granted Conrad had used a magical sword to fight with the blonde, but Genie had seen the way Naruto fought and while she was unsure of the style he used, it was rather impressive to say the very least as he used that agility of his.

Genie had great pride and confidence in her skills, but she had been travelling for a very long time and had learned sword skills from others when she became a mercenary so she was a bit more open minded with the way one used a sword. She had made her life's work with swords and she had to admit that she was rather curious as to the style. She kept in mind that Naruto was trained as an assassin and no doubt that style was made for that kind of work. She decided to take a good walk and get some fresh air, she had been to such festivals before, but it had been a while since she had been in one so no sense not having fun.

She however spotted another band of men reading a book and recognized it to be another one of those books that Naruto wrote and that was more than enough to trigger the memory of his suggestion to them before.

........

Flashback...

"No....but I can put you in the next editions if you like."

........

End of Flashback...

Genie shook her head and tried not to think of those things since she was not in the mood to be in the situations that the blonde had placed in his novels. She had managed to read some of it but she stopped herself before it brought up images that would have no doubt been too embarrassing for her. She had done much to prove that she was no mere woman, but Genie was still a woman at heart and she did feel things the way a woman would.

(Damn that guy....he just had to write about such things.)

The mercenary shook her head at that and headed off to see just how Melissa was doing.

........

However....not everyone in the Festival had good intentions...

........

In a hidden room...

"There....this should do it."

The people in question were smiling as they looked at the modifications that they had made on the power crystals that would serve to move the Golems that would be included into the display area, as soon as they were able to get their plans underway, they decided to wait for the right time to strike.

They had endured a lot to make it this far and soon they would have their revenge on the blonde Shinobi/mage. As soon as they were done, they quickly hid away from sight as the Priestesses and mages assigned to the building came in to get the crystals and install them into the Golems to be activated and play their parts.

They were going to play their parts all right, but as soon as they were given the signal to attack, things were going to get very interesting from here on out.

However, they were not going to be alone either as a certain someone was making her way into Ohfun, she was aiming directly at the place where the festival was, this person in question managed to bypass the guards as she made her way there.

(You two are not going to get away from my people so easily. The others might have given up for now, but I haven't.)

........

Hours later...

Naruto and Ila had arrived at the place where the golems were going to be displayed to high light the events that led to the founding of Ohfun and the many heroes that were there. He spotted Melissa and Jenny as well and gave the two women a wave, he was in something of a jovial mood and decided to play nice as he greeted them.

"Good morning Jenny-san, Melissa."

The elder priestess smiled warmly at the blonde ninja and Melissa decided to give a slight smile to Naruto as her superior spoke.

"Nice to see you again Naruto, it's been a while since you've paid me a visit, I take it your time with Melissa and her companions has gone well enough."

Naruto laughed a bit at that and replied.

"It's gone well enough, any way, Master Carwess said I should attend this festival and help with some matters that have gotten his concern up."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he's kind of concerned about the Golems and wanted me to be around for a bit."

Jenny thought about that and nodded as she turned to Melissa.

"Melissa, I think you can guess that you can take the group on a tour though since I have told Naruto a good deal about my own adventures, Naruto already has a fair idea on what to expect in the show, right Naruto?"

"True, but seeing it in action might be a bit interesting, I always preferred to see things for myself, that's how I used to train. Especially when Kakashi-sensei....well he used to teach me through action and words, I miss him..."

Naruto's smile faded when he thought of his Jonin-sensei, he really missed the white haired Jonin and wished he was still around. After all, despite their first beginning, Kakashi had been like a big brother to the blonde Chuunin and after all, he had been the one to teach him the use of his Wind Chakra in order to finally perfect his Rasengan. It had taken a lot of his will to not kill Nagato for taking his sensei from him, he however knew that Kakashi was proud of him for being able to reach his use of the Rasengan. Kakashi's statement that he was stronger than Jiraiya, himself, and his father was something Naruto carried with pride in his heart, yet he couldn't deny that it still hurt him to know that Kakashi was gone.

Jenny nodded in sympathy as she knew about Kakashi from Naruto himself though Ila and Melissa were naturally confused by this sudden change. Ila wanted to know more but decided that she might as well ask the question on a much later date. Melissa as well could see that whoever this Kakashi was, he was a person close to Naruto, no doubt because he was his teacher.

Naruto then shook his head and got back to smiling, this was a festival day so no sense being all gloomy, and he came with Ila so she would be happy.

"I'm all right, so, where do we go from here?"

Jenny replied easily to that particular question.

"I will not be with you for a while as I have other matters that I need to deal with so Melissa should be able to handle that part, right Melissa?"

The blonde Priestess sighed and nodded as she decided to guide Naruto and Ila through the place and hope that this would be a situation which would not have any difficulties, though she knew that she was not going to wait long for something to possibly happen.

......

As the group moved into the building, they were greeted by none other than Isabelle who apparently had her own ritual scheduled for tomorrow and for now was serving as a tour guide with her own band of youngsters. The blonde Priestess was naturally surprised by the sight of the blonde Chuunin and mage, asking Melissa who he was, and Melissa answered back.

"He's my Chosen Champion."

Isabelle looked Naruto over and the ninja/mage had to admit that he didn't like being examined like this by a stranger he had only met recently. However Isabelle merely smiled and replied that she was going to be rather curious as to how he was going to do as a hero. Once that was out of the way, Melissa and the others moved through the place while Naruto looked at the moving figures, he was happy that so far, the Golems appeared to be working well enough on their own and didn't need too much.

Melissa then spoke to Naruto.

"Naruto, who is this Kakashi person?"

The blonde sighed a bit and decided that he should tell them about his now deceased sensei as they looked at the statues that would move to re-enact the scenes that they were now part of.

"Kakashi Hatake was one of the highest ranking ninja in our village and was the sensei of my team, he was always late, loved reading those erotic novels, and always was a bit bossy and standoffish. But he was a great teacher, and he always did his best to teach us. Him and I used to clash a bit, and there were times that I never could understand him, but he was a great teacher and he became more than a teacher, he was more like a big brother to me. He used to bug me about my eating habits, and when I did all right, he praised me. I remember when he told me that I had grown strong enough to surpass him, the Pervy Sage, and my father, I couldn't have asked for a better teacher."

Ila and Melissa saw in Naruto's face that he missed his former sensei and the young redhead spoke to him.

"So....what happened?"

Naruto sighed loudly and looked out through a window as he thought about the past and how he had lost Kakashi.

"He....died using his full power to defend our village. After....some events, there was a Jutsu that was used to bring so many dead back to life, but Kakashi-sensei was already too far gone, and he was not brought back to life. I personally buried him and vowed to be able to be strong for him and prove that I was able to be as strong as he said me to be."

Melissa couldn't help but feel some measure of pity for Naruto as she could see that the blonde was dead serious about his bond with his sensei. However that was when some of the Golems suddenly went nuts. The blonde priestess and the others were stunned to see some of the Golems move away from where they once were stationed and begin to go amuck all over the place.

"What the heck is going on?!"

Melissa was stunned by this, but Naruto quickly realized the danger that Carwess had mentioned to him was actually real and he quickly used a pair of kunai and blocked the spear strike of one of the Golems that came out to attack Ila, the red haired girl was happy that Naruto was able to save her as he quickly launched a powerful kick to the chest of the Golem and sent it back to the wall with a large smash. The blonde turned and was happy that Ila was safe, but the movement nearby told him that the first Golem was but the first as the other Golems began to move.

"This is not good!"

The shouts of surprise all over the building told the trio that things were going to quickly get even more dangerous as the three of them moved out and to their surprise, the other Golems in the show rooms were also beginning to move and were now attacking the others in the room, Melissa was able to spot Isabelle herding her group of the building and she was happy that no one was going to be hurt. However she was still very concerned to why these golems were acting like this right now.

Naruto then turned to Ila and spoke.

"Ila-chan, you need to go out and warn Carwess-sensei of what is happening here!"

"But what about you two?!"

"No time! Get out of here quickly Ila-chan!"

Ila could tell that Naruto was not going to be dissuaded from what he was setting out to do, and knew that this was his nature so no amount of arguing from her was going to change that. She nodded and left the area to go and warn Master Carwess of the danger, this left Naruto and Melissa alone to deal with the suddenly rampaging Golems, Naruto quickly spotted one of them which was armed with a bow being to take aim at Melissa and he quickly threw his kunai at the Golem's weapon, namely at the bow string, rendering the weapon useless.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"

The blonde Chuunin turned and quickly fired several shuriken at another Golem, stopping it short from using it's axe on Isabelle by aiming at the joints in the arms, he silently thanked Jiraiya and Iruka for teaching him how to aim better with shuriken prior to the death of his godfather. The blonde priestess looked at him with some level of surprise and gratitude as she moved out of the area.

However, several more Golems came right at Naruto and that was when he noted that this time, the Golems were now directing their attention on him. This made him all the more wary as he took out another pair of kunai from the pouch on his thigh and got ready to fight once more while Melissa then noted something in the body of the first Golem, it looked like some sort of control crystal, a normal kind to the normal view of the people. But this was not the regular kind....it was the kind used for military purposes!

"Naruto! These Golems are being controlled by a command crystal used only by the military!"

"Someone must have switched the crystals when they were still in storage. The question is who did this and why."

That was when a pair of voices called out.

"That would be us....street rat."

The ninja and the priestess turned to spot a pair of people there with sneers on their faces.

........

Naruto growled in anger at this as he finally recognized the pair before him.

"You two again? I thought I left you behind back there in the hands of Celecia's people."

Garret and Hayden growled in anger at that memory and the eldest shouted.

"You did, you street scum, you humiliated us and killed our Hellhound! And for the past months we had to endure near endless torture from those pointy eared savages."

Naruto snorted and replied.

"You two deserved every second of it, nearly wiping out an entire village just for the sake of money and your own hunger for power."

"Shut up! You always meddled in things that you shouldn't have....we have risked much to get these crystals from the convoy that was passing through the cities, we might wind up in jail for eternity, but we will not give up until we see you dead ever since you stopped us from getting the most powerful staves that we deserved!"

Hayden was not outdone as he spoke as well, anger and rage in his voice.

"We've been on the run ever since, those elves hated us so much that they sent out some of their own to track us down and bring us back to face justice. We had to live of the streets, hunting for scraps of food barely worth anything! Not only that....the people who were willing to pay for the wood hunted us down and made us suffer even MORE humiliation and beatings!"

The two brothers then spoke at the same time, showing just how much they had gone over the edge in their anger.

"Back then we had everything, food, clothing, power, respect, and more....you RUINED everything Naruto Uzumaki and now we're going to have our revenge!!!"

Naruto could see that there was no reasoning with the mad mages and he was quick to make his move and summoned his Kage Bushin.

"KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!!!!"

Several Kage Bushin were formed and they were quick to launch an attack on the Golems that were now being controlled by Garret and Hayden while he turned to face Melissa as well as the three Priestesses who had just arrived looking for Melissa in this whole mess that erupted out of nowhere and shouted to them.

"Get the others out of here now!!!!"

Melissa saw that Naruto was serious and she didn't argue with him as she called out to the three.

"Come on, we have to get the others out of here!"

Janet, Ann, and Joan agreed and they quickly moved out to get the people from the area of the soon to come battle, the people had panicked the very second the Golems began to attack anyone they saw until Naruto was targeted by them. As soon as the people were out, Genie came into the scene, utterly surprised by the sudden riot that came from the hall where the golems were. She quickly rushed up to Melissa and spoke to the Priestess.

"Melissa! What the heck is going on here?!"

Melissa spoke as she reached behind her to ready her war hammer.

"Those two mages we met before in the Elves' forest are back and they've taken control of the display golems and are attacking Naruto."

Genie's eyes widened at that and she was quick to get the message and readied her sword as Melissa told Janet, Ann, and Joan to help the others while they went back inside to help Naruto. As they moved in, they spotted a number of destroyed Golems and then spotted Naruto who was still fighting alongside several Kage Bushin while Garret and Hayden were unleashing more of the Golems that they had secretly controlled.

The blonde was able to hold his own as he and his Kage Bushin were cutting down the golems and so far, he had been happy that no one was in the area that would get caught in the attack, He turned and blocked an incoming strike from an axe wielding Golem but was surprised when a sword blade tore through the chest area of the Golem and there was Genie, and he turned to see another Golem get a face full of steel courtesy of Melissa's war hammer.

As the two women were on either side of him, he spoke to them.

"What are you two doing here?"

Genie replied.

"Melissa told me about what was going on here the very second I showed up, I thought that we were not going to meet these guys again, how the heck did they get free from the elves?"

Naruto sighed as he took out his sword from the sheath and replied.

"Now isn't the time for questions, we have to deal with them fast."

Melissa nodded in agreement as the three of them faced off with the Golems and as Garret and Hayden ordered them to attack, Naruto was quick to make a move as he focused his chakra into his sword and kunai, Genie watched as Naruto's weapons seemed to glow in deep blue energy and were surrounded by wind itself, the ninja quickly attacked several more Golems, cutting them down quickly and effectively and then tossed his kunai right into the face of one such Golem and the wind chakra was able to allow the weapon to cut through the Golem, just as Naruto sliced down another Golem with his sword.

The battle was becoming a lot more serious as the once prestigious halls were turned into a war zone as the Golems continued to unleash their wrath

Garret and Hayden were growing angrier by the second, they had thought that their hidden golem army would be more than enough to finally destroy the blonde pest who had been the bane of their existence ever since he had set his feet onto the halls of the Magic Guild. They had hoped to catch him by surprise and finish him for good and if anyone got in their way, so what?

The two brothers had gone beyond caring for others except themselves and only cared for ending Naruto's life and that was why they were not going to waste a single moment in dealing with the ninja as they unleashed all of the display Golems to overwhelm and cut down the blonde. They were not going to give up easily and they were going to use their ultimate move if it came to that.

However as their forces converged on the blonde and his companions, a massive blast of wind sent the first wave of Golems smashing into the side, Naruto was sure that he had nothing to do with that part and they all turned to see a new figure appear and then the person spoke.

And this time, the voice was female and when the hood was removed, it was a face everyone recognized.

"So you came back here for revenge....typical."

........

Both mages gasped and were soon shouting in rage as they recognized the attacker as none other than the elf Celecia who looked at the two brothers with utter contempt in her face as she readied another wind spell to attack them.

"YOU!!!!"

The young elf nodded and spoke back to the enraged mages.

"Did you really think that you two would be truly free of elven justice just because you escaped from our grasp?"

The two brothers sneered at that and sent several golems at Celecia but she was quick on her feet and fired another spell, taking down several of the Golems while taking out her enchanted sword to fight them off, she was able to do well on her own just as Naruto unleashed several fireballs via magic on another pair that tried to attack the elf just as he moved next to her.

"What are you doing here Celecia?"

"I was assigned by my father to hunt down these two after they escaped our forest, there were others but I am the only one willing to go out into the human lands so my father allowed to come here."

Naruto smiled at that as the four of them began to take out Garret and Hayden's forces and the two mages were naturally very angry at all this and they decided to finally call on their ace in the hole as they activated another crystal and retreated just as their Golems in the area were destroyed as Melissa, Genie, Naruto and Celecia defeated the wave sent against them, the four chased the two brothers before they would cause even more damage.

However, as they entered another part of the hall, the group were forced to scatter when a massive wave of flame came right at them and when they looked, it seemed that one of the much larger Golems, in this case a Dragon was also under the control of the two insane mages as they shouted out to Naruto.

"Now you will die you blonde rat!"

Naruto felt a vein pop in his head as he readied his sword and channelled his chakra into his sword while readying his wand and quickly charged, using his agility to his advantage and unleashed a powerful slash into the Golem, cutting into the skin and hitting some of the inner parts, forcing the Dragon to back away. The Golem however unleashed a much larger fire stream at the group, Naruto then guessed that the two brothers must have modified the magic that gave the dragon it's flame breath so he knew that the best chance to take out this pest was to prevent it from using it's flame attacks.

Naruto then readied himself as he summoned a spell, knowing that the best way to take out this dragon was to hit it with full force though he had planned a special surprise on the two enemies.

The two laughed as they saw him casting a spell and they were able to recognize it as a simple Water spell.

"That spell is weak Naruto! You really think that it will stop us?!"

"We have spent a lot of resources to improve this Golem so we can end you if those Golems outside didn't cut it, now get ready to be turned into ash!"

Naruto snorted and replied.

"In your dreams! WATER CANNON!!!!"

The spell was a basic water sphere attack, but Naruto had been able to infuse his chakra into the spell and that included his Wind chakra, the sphere was supposed to be the size of a small ball, but with Naruto's technique and chakra infused into it, the thing grew into a massive boulder sized sphere of water. That was more than enough to shock the others and both brothers were the ones who phrased the whole thing the most.

"WHAT?!"

The blonde unleashed it and the water sphere smashed hard into the massive wave of flame aiming at the blonde Chuunin and the size of the sphere plus the immense power that Naruto had infused into it was more than enough to cancel out the flames. The steam that came out was more than enough to fill the entire building, the sphere also smashed hard into the mouth of the Dragon and killed the flame magic that powered it.

"NO!!!! DAMN YOU NARUTO!!!!"

Garret and Hayden shouted as they tried to locate Naruto, if they couldn't fry him into nothing but ash, they were going to have their Dragon Golem shred the blonde or turn him into a chew toy, they would love that. But they were not going to get the chance as Naruto charged in and quickly slashed off the claws of the Dragon Golem with his sword that was naturally coated with his Wind Chakra to increase it's overall cutting power.

As soon as he de-clawed the dragon Golem, Naruto quickly summoned another spell and then channelled it into his sword by placing his wand on the sword and the sword was soon covered in flames along with his Wind chakra, and the results were undeniably interesting as the sword was covered in a swirling coat of flame that also had wind like powers as the steam moved around it like a cloak.

Melissa, Genie, and Celecia were stunned by the sight just as Ila, Jenny, Carwess, Janet, Ann, and Joan, and several guards as well as Isabelle came on the scene. The image of the blonde Chuunin in his overcoat of red and black, his clothes of orange and black, his sword covered with swirling fire while facing a Dragon surrounded by mist and he was in mid leap was something out of a fairy tale or one really good movie as the audience watched the whole thing.

Naruto then replied in a smile at both the two mages.

"Eat this!!! INFERNO SWORD!!!!"

The attack was powerful as the blonde slashed the Dragon and the sword's flame covering lashed out with powerful force and slammed into the Dragon Golem, reducing it to nothing but a ruined wreck as both Garret and Hayden fell off and looked at Naruto who landed on the ground as he spun his sword and the flame faded from it as he sheathed it into his back. They were speechless as they were quickly attacked by the guards who had no trouble subduing the stunned mages as Carwess looked at the former students with disappointment and contempt.

"I had hoped that you two had changed your ways and taken your punishments like real men, but this...this attack in Ohfun's own lands and in the Mylee Appreciation festival is too much. You are both to be exiled from Ohfun and placed in the cells of Callis. Guards...take them away."

"Yes Master Carwess!!!"

........

Later...

Naruto was scratching his head a bit at the situation before him and couldn't help but feel a slight sense of déjà vu as he spoke to Celecia. They had just watched the two sorcerers taken away to stand trial for their crimes, while Celecia was given permission to be in the city as long as she was in Naruto's company. He was then surprised when the elf spoke to him about something

"You want me to train you in my skills?"

The elf woman nodded at that as she spoke.

"Yes....after seeing what you could do against those golems, I decided to stay here a bit longer and learn from you, those abilities of your were very impressive Naruto and I want to be able to use them to help protect my people a lot better."

The blonde Chuunin was quite surprised by this and thought back on the time that Konohamaru had asked to be his student when they were still kids. He could see a lot of potential in Celecia and the fact that she was actually already attuned to nature would certainly help her a great deal in the training he had in mind.

He was silent for a while longer and the elf wondered briefly if the blonde ninja/mage was going to say not her request to train under him and she decided to explain her other reasons, but that was when Naruto made his decision.

"All right Celecia, I'll teach you, but you have to promise me that you won't use the training without good reason, all right?"

The elf nodded eagerly as she decided to head off to the forest and call on the spirits to tell her father that her mission was over and she would be taking some time to train a bit more. As soon as she left the area, Melissa walked over to Naruto and spoke to him with some level of worry.

"Are you sure that teaching Celecia your techniques is a wise move Naruto? I don't mean to sound callous or anything, but you do recall that she had led us into an ambush when we first met her right?"

"I haven't forgotten, but back then she was doing her best to defend her village, it's not the first time I got dragged into something like that before. Besides, I know that Celecia is a good person at heart and that's the reason I agreed to teach her."

The priestess sighed a bit and nodded.

"Fair enough, now we're going to have to deal with the mess in here, at least no one was badly hurt in any fashion, but this festival is ruined completely, and it was..."

"Your first festival?"

Melissa nodded at that and Naruto replied to that.

"You can always attend the next festival; you already did your duty as a Priestess right? You saved lives and you protected the innocent, if anything, you've reaffirmed your loyalty to the Church and made yourself a better person and a priestess in the eyes of the people in Ohfun. I think that this makes this day special for you either way Melissa."

The blonde priestess was silent as she thought about it and couldn't help but smile slightly at the truth there in his words. Genie then walked over to the pair and she sighed while crossing her arms in front of her as she looked at the direction of where the two rogue mages were being dragged away by the guards.

"Those two are going to be hauled off under lock and key for this incident, they might have escaped the elves' grip but I doubt that they will be getting out of the jails made for mages in the Northern City of Callis anytime soon."

"Thank Kami for that, but I can wager a guess that we're not going to be seeing the last of them, damn....they remind me of Kabuto and Orochimaru sometimes....but at least unlike that snake summoning bastard, and that sadistic nutcase, those two are not that skilled."

"Who?"

Naruto turned and sighed, he shouldn't have mentioned those two, he still had bad memories of his encounters with the former Konoha Sannin and his right hand man he had never forgiven them for all the things they had done and it was good that those two were finally put to rest, but he and many others had worked hard to get that far.

"It's a long story."

The mercenary then looked at Naruto with a critical eye and the blonde ninja was quick to recognize the stare being directed at him by the dark skinned red haired mercenary and he spoke.

"What is it now Genie?"

"I want to see just how good you are with the sword you carry Naruto, I have a feeling that there's more to that stuff I saw there and I am rather curious to see just what else you happen to be capable of."

The blonde then grinned at that as he replied to the hidden challenge in Genie's words.

"All right then, let's see if you can keep up."

........

In Konoha...

Tsunade sighed a bit as she decided to get some time to herself, the message delivered by Gamakichi had helped ease her worry as Naruto was still very much alive though she wished that they were able to find some way to bring the blonde Chuunin back into Konoha, though it had been a day or so since his disappearance, things had been rather dull in Konoha not to mention that many of his friends were very worried about him.

Sakura and Hinata were the most worried though they had faith in Naruto, and so did Sai as well as Yamato so they were able to carry on with what they needed to do. The Hokage however wished that there was some way to bridge the dimensional barriers to reach him. The fact that wherever Naruto had landed in proved to be very far away and it would take a lot of chakra to do a summoning Jutsu, she had asked Fukasaku and Shima about trying to use chakra to summon Naruto back, but they replied that they needed far greater power to do so and it would be risky, the only way it would work is if something of greater power would be able to help bridge the gap between realms to allow them to cross over there.

The elderly Toad Sage had yet to send word but he sent the message that he saw that Naruto would be a great ally to those in that world in the time that would pass,, that there would be a door in the storm of ice and wind, and those close to his heart will travel there to side with him to face a great threat there. Tsunade was pleased with the news and knew that there was a chance that they were going to be with Naruto soon.

It was then that she was greeted by a messenger hawk and she read it, it seemed that there were reports of some very odd activity going on somewhere in the north and reports of some old man that had been conducting experiments with rare and powerful materials. The odd thing was that this man claimed that he was trying to return to some world that he had been part of.

This got Tsunade's attention well enough and she decided to call in Team 7 to give them some information, she also decided to call in Hinata Hyuuga as she knew that they might need a tracker ninja on their team as Kurenai was still taking the time to raise her son while Kiba and Akamaru were elsewhere and Shino was on other matters. She had a feeling that this was something that could be important.

Minutes later since sending word, she was soon greeted by team 7 and Hinata and began to tell them of the mission that she was soon going to hand to them.

........

To be continued...

........

Author's Notes:

Looks like Naruto is in for a bit more entertaining situations than before, sorry for the long delay but with so many projects in my mind coupled with my real life issues, I had to take time away from all this in order to avoid burning myself out and focus on other projects in order to make sure that I didn't miss too much of.

And the damn heat-wave in every afternoon here in summer is killer on the body...

Anyhow, sorry about the confusion in the case of Naruto's rank, I've had a lot on my mind so I lost track of it. To be sure, he is a Chuunin now so I hope that will be the end of that.

In this chapter, we saw the return of Garret and Hayden, they had managed to escape the grip of the elves, but their attempts of gaining revenge over Naruto have failed considerably but you can bet that those two will be more than willing and ready to escape once more and try to make life a misery for the blonde ninja.

And it seems that there's movement in the world that Naruto is part of, and will this situation play a role in the coming chapters of Rune Soldier Naruto? That will be revealed soon enough as I plan out on how to get this story back into full operational status as best I can ever since I took a much needed respite from it.

Anyway, this is but the first of my updates since I plan to give this a good haul before moving on to the next project.

Expect a new chapter soon!


End file.
